Madan Singh, her father, took her with a cousin to Ahmedabad on Wednesday night. And just before she left, he had a picture taken with her at the airport, which he shared with relatives, wishing her well. Shortly after, as the family was going back home, news of the crash transformed the family's joy into sorrow.
Wreckage Victims Top 260, and International Deaths Confirmed
Departure from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport The flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to London, took off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39 pm on Thursday. The plane gave a mayday call a few minutes after takeoff and fell near a government hospital hostel near the airport. The plane burst into flames when its crashed, causing extensive damage.
Officials have recovered 265 bodies from the crash site as of late Thursday night. The dead included three medical students and passengers from India, the UK, Portugal and Canada. Several others were injured. The Indian Medical Association confirmed the deaths and relief operations were carried out by several government agencies including the Army, NDRF and CISF. The airport temporarily stopped operations before allowing flights to resume.
Mourned by Family and Community
For her own family, especially her mother and younger siblings, it is a disaster now to come to terms with the sudden loss. The family was scheduled to travel, local BJP youth leader Durga Singh Rajpurohit said and added, the entire village is grieving the shocking demise.
An AAIB official inquiry is currently in progress to ascertain the circumstances leading to the crash.
