AHMEDABAD: The promise of new beginnings, the joy of a long-awaited reunion between father and son, a family's celebration of love and joy were all shattered in an instant when the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, bound for London, crashed into the densely populated Meghaninagar area just minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad.
The accident claimed the lives of all but one of 242 passengers on board, including 12 crew members, in the country's worst aviation tragedy, leaving dozens of families in mourning.
Among the deceased were 18 people from North Gujarat, hailing from Mehsana, Patan, Banaskantha, and Aravalli districts.
Towns such as Visnagar, Kadi, Chandumana, Aithor, Dhanera, Palanpur, Modasa, Khambhisar, Bayad, and Danta have all lost lives in the tragedy, leaving behind a trail of heartbreak across Gujarat.
Kamlesh Chaudhary and his wife Dhapuben, a young couple from Thavar village in Dhanera, were on their way to settle in the UK. Their dreams, carefully built over years, came crashing down with the aircraft. Their grieving family is left clutching photos and memories, instead of visa papers and airport hugs.
In Visnagar, the pain is just as raw. Dinesh Kumar Patel, a lifelong farmer, was taking his first flight — a trip to London to visit his son. His friends had thrown him a heartfelt farewell on the farm, where the old Bollywood song 'Tu Kal Chala Jayega To Main Kya Karunga' played in the background.
None imagined that the song would become an elegy.
Ratilal Patel, a 71-year-old from Kadi, was going to meet his son Tejas, who had made a life for himself in the UK. Tejas had just bought a home and invited his father to visit. As the family dropped him off at Ahmedabad airport, there was joy and anticipation. But hours later, that joy turned to disbelief as the news broke: the flight had crashed, and Ratilal was among the dead.
"He had left in the morning with so much excitement," said Shaileshbhai Patel, a grieving relative.
In Chandumana village of Patan, Kuberbhai Patel and his wife Babibehn were also headed to London to see their son. Eager for the journey, they had boarded the same flight. Their son had waited years for this reunion - now, instead of welcoming his parents, he prepares to perform their last rites.
In Visnagar’s Ganji area, Ankitaben Patel, newly married to Vasantkumar Patel of London, had finally received her visa. Her family had celebrated the moment with warmth and pride. She left on Thursday with blessings and warm wishes, unaware that her first journey to meet her husband would tragically be her last.
In Palanpur, Rameshbhai Thakkar and his wife Labhubehn were on their way to a wedding in London - that of their son’s wife’s relative. It was supposed to be a family celebration, one filled with joy, but instead, the news of the crash brought sorrow.
Many families who had gathered to say goodbye at the airport were still on their way home when they heard the devastating news. Phones rang. Messages came.
The joy of a farewell turned instantly into the horror of finality.
This crash has not just taken lives; it has uprooted families, broken communities, and silenced the dreams of dozens across the nation. As rescue teams continue recovery efforts in Meghaninagar, the country mourns together, holding onto fragments of lives that were meant to take off, not fall.
