What was supposed to be a celebratory moment became a loss beyond imagination for 21-year-old Dhavni Patel, a United Kingdom student. Her parents and her aunt, who had planned to reach London ahead of time on a surprise visit to her before she attended the convocation ceremony, were among the casualties of the Air India plane crash that took place shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday.
According to a report by NDTV, Dhavni’s parents: Rajnikant Patel and Divyaben Rajnikant along with her maternal aunt Hemangi Ben, had departed from Vasad in Gujarat en route to London. The family had initially planned to fly on June 17 but decided to advance their travel to spend more time with Dhavni and make her graduation day even more special.
Yet, disaster happened just minutes into the flight. The Air India 787-8 Dreamliner, traveling to London, crashed into a hostel for doctors in close proximity to Meghani Nagar in Ahmedabad. Rather than being reunited with her loved ones, Dhavni was told the horrific news that they were among the more than 250 individuals whose lives were cut short in the accident. Solely one person survived.
Crash Details and Investigation
Air India officially stated that Flight AI-171 carried 242 people, comprising 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, one Canadian citizen, and 12 crew members. The flight crashed soon after taking off from the airport, causing devastation and sorrow in its wake. The only survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British-Indian national, is receiving treatment at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital.
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, inspected the site of the crash on Friday and subsequently saw the survivor in hospital. The Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, also visited the site and made announcements regarding the process of identification, stating, “The forensic laboratories have been instructed to finish the DNA analysis in the minimum time possible.”
Government Sets Up Investigation Panel
Following the tragedy, the central government has set up a high-level, multi-disciplinary panel to probe the cause of the crash. The panel will minutely review contributing factors to the tragedy, assess existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and suggest enhanced safety procedures to prevent such tragedies in the future, according to an order from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The committee will also be given access to all the important evidence, such as the black box data of the aircraft, air traffic control records, maintenance records, and eyewitness accounts. The authorities have given the final report a three-month time limit for submission.