Shattered lives, delayed goodbyes: Grief deepens for families of victims
The crash of Air India flight AI 171 shattered hundreds of lives. But for the families left behind, the nightmare hasn’t ended — it has only grown heavier with each passing hour.
At Ahmedabad’s BJ Medical College and Hospital, where charred bodies have been taken for identification, grieving family members sit in silence, their eyes scanning every movement, waiting for the only thing they now hope for — closure.
The tragedy claimed 270 lives, including 29 on the ground. And yet, the most painful part for many families is the wait — for the DNA tests, for a call, for confirmation that the lifeless remains belong to someone they once held close.
Ayub Sheikh, drenched in sweat under the scorching sun, stands outside the hospital with trembling hands. He lost four family members — his 37-year-old nephew Javed Ali, his nephew’s wife Mariam and their children Amina (4) and Zain (8), all British nationals who had come to India to celebrate Eid.
“They came to Mumbai just for a week. We gave our DNA samples on the very day of the crash. Now they say it’ll take 72 hours,” he says, voice cracking. Authorities say DNA matching takes up to 72 hours. Samples have been sent to a lab in Gandhinagar. But for families, the hours feel like an eternity. “They were just returning home. Why are we still waiting to take them back with us?” said Sheikh, showing the picture of the deceased family.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, meanwhile in Delhi, said the Gujarat Government was expediting identification. Yet, no deadline can heal this kind of grief. For Kajal Patel, the grief is tangled with guilt. Her father, Ramesh Chandra Patel, a British national, had come to Gujarat for a nine-day trip to enjoy Indian food — mangoes, jambul and fish curry — the flavours he missed most in London.
“He told me he was safe inside the plane,” Kajal recalls. “He even rang me again just to say he had boarded. I told him to relax… I never imagined I’d never speak to him again.”
Her voice trembles as she recounts the missed video call. “I was working when he called. I thought I’d call him back… I never did. He loved this country. He died here. Maybe it was God’s calling,” she says. When asked about the compensation announced by Air India for the victims, she said, “No amount of compensation can bring him back. Money means nothing. I just want my father. Can they give that?”
Dr JP Joshi, a retired physician, struggles to hold back tears as he remembers the final moments with his son, Dr Prateek Joshi, a radiologist in London. Prateek had come to India to take his wife, Dr Komi, and their three children — Miraya (9) and twin boys Nakul and Pradyut (4) — back with him to London.
“They had packed everything. The children had their transfer certificates. The boys slept with their new school bags, dreaming of studying in London,” Joshi says, voice hollow with loss. “Now… they are free,” he adds, pausing to gather himself.
His last conversation with his son still echoes: “Papa, be ready to come live with us.”
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