18 hours Ago
In accordance with Hindu grieving customs, Patolia submerged his wife's ashes into the holy River Narmada. He was planning to return to London after the rites with family members and to reunite with his daughters, 4 and 8, who had remained behind.
Air India Flight AI171 Comes to Grief
On Thursday, Patolia boarded Air India flight AI171 to London Gatwick Airport. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was just minutes in the air after departing Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport when it ploughed into the hostel of a medical college nearby. The plane had not gained the proper altitude, lost control and burst into flames on impact, dramatic video showed.
His nephew, Krish Jagdish Patolia, said his uncle was on the doomed flight. Since then, the crash has been labelled one of the deadliest aviation tragedies in India's modern history.
Only One Is Alive Out of 11 Killed
The flight had been carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members, 53 of whom were British. Everyone but one of the 265 people on board survived. The devastating crash has families around the world grieving, including Arjun Patolia's, who now has to grapple with a double loss in a single week.
