AHMEDABAD: The coastal town of Diu has been plunged into collective grief, with 14 of its people losing their lives in the devastating Ahmedabad plane crash that took place on June 12.
As the silence of mourning spreads across the parish, the return of seven more bodies this morning deepened the anguish that began last night when four bodies and one mortal remains arrived in Diu under a veil of darkness.
Among the dead was Ajay, whose younger brother, Vishwas, emerged as the sole survivor of the crash, burdened with a pain that survival couldn’t justify.
At Ajay’s funeral today, Vishwas collapsed in tears, crying uncontrollably, expressing,“Why did you keep me alive…kill me too… what should I do when I go home?”
His sobs pierced the air, breaking down even the strongest in the crowd.
The surviving brother, once anonymous in his trauma, now stood exposed in sorrow, inconsolable as he placed his trembling shoulder under his brother’s bier.
Ajay’s wife, unable to bear the shock, was admitted to the hospital after her health deteriorated.
Vishwas had just returned home after being discharged from Ahmedabad Civil Hospital at 7:30 pm on June 17. But, even as his physical wounds healed, his heart carries scars too deep to treat.
Superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi revealed that Vishwas was under psychiatric care during his hospital stay. For the first three days, doctors withheld the truth -- he was the only one to survive, while his brother and all others perished.
Hoping to protect his mental state, doctors repeatedly reassured him that his brother was looking for him.
However, truth has a cruel way of finding its way in. When Vishwas’ family --- clad in mourning clothes -- arrived at the hospital, their faces gave away what words couldn’t hide. Reality hit him like another crash. Vishwas broke down, whispering again and again: “I couldn’t save my brother… I couldn’t save anyone... I don’t want to live anymore.”
The hospital immediately assigned psychiatric doctors to visit him two to three times a day. However, his suicidal thoughts persisted, as he struggles under the unbearable weight of guilt and loss.
Back in Diu, Vishwas faces another torment: silence.
Vishwas lives with his three-year-old son, while Ajay’s two daughters had passed away due to illness in London, earlier.
Two more families from Diu still await the bodies of their loved ones.
Today, Vishwas not just wept for his brother, but for a life forever altered -- to survive a tragedy that robbed him of his family member, his peace, and his 'will' to go on.
