Ahmedabad: In a heart-wrenching twist of fate, a grieving father who had travelled to India to fulfil his late wife’s final wish died in the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, leaving the couple’s two young daughters orphaned.
Arjun Patolia, a London-based father-of-two, had flown to Gujarat to carry out the last rites of his wife Bharati, who had died just seven days ago in the UK. Her final wish was to have her ashes immersed in her native village in the Amreli district of Gujarat. Patolia travelled with her floral urn, fulfilled the rituals at a local river, and spent time performing traditional funeral rites with extended family.
Prayer meet invitation of Patolia's deceased wife, surfaced on social media. | (Photo Courtesy: X/@SiddhAneeta)
The 38-year-old was scheduled to return to London on Thursday to reunite with his daughters, aged just four and eight. But tragedy struck moments after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
Catastrophic Crash Claims 241 Lives
Patolia was among the 242 passengers aboard Air India flight AI-171, a Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed shortly after take-off around 1:40 PM local time (8:10 AM BST). Eyewitness CCTV footage reportedly shows the aircraft struggling to gain altitude before spiralling into a densely populated area with its nose pitched upwards and landing gear still deployed.
The aircraft smashed into the Meghaninagar, hitting a medical college hostel and igniting a massive blaze. Of the 242 people on board, including 53 British nationals, 241 were confirmed dead, making it one of India’s worst aviation disasters in recent years.
Only one person survived the crash. The identities of the deceased are still being formally confirmed, but Patolia’s death has already devastated relatives and friends in both the UK and India. His daughters are now left without both parents in the span of a week.
