On board AI 171: Proud parents headed to the UK to attend convocations
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
On board AI 171: Proud parents headed to the UK to attend convocations
Rajni Patel and her family were travelling to the UK to attend a university convocation. They were among the victims of the plane crash in the Indian city of Ahmedabad. Rajni’s father and brother were also killed in the crash, as was her sister-in-law. The family had planned to stay for a few days before flying back to the U.S. to be with their relatives. But the flight was cancelled due to bad weather, and the family was forced to return to the city on the same day as the convocation was due to take place. It was the first time Rajni had been away from her family for more than a year, and she was devastated to see them lose their loved ones in such a tragic way. She said: “I’m still in a state of shock. I don’t know what to say. I’ve been through a lot.” She added: ‘I just want to see my family.’ The family was travelling to London to attend the university’s graduation ceremony.
Rajni Patel (51) and his wife, Divyaben (47), from Gujarat’s Vasad town, had also packed local snacks, new shoes and a watch to surprise the 21-year-old. Travelling with them was Dhwani’s aunt, Hemangi Patel (57).
“They had scheduled a flight for June 20 but advanced it to June 16, and finally to June 12, as they wanted to spend more time with me since I was to sit for placements after my convocation. This was the first time someone from our family was attending a convocation abroad. I told them to stay with me for some days as the weather is usually good in London,” Dhwani told The Indian Express.
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The family found itself on the Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing all but one on board.
A student of business management from Middlesex University in London, Dhwani rushed back home but could only reach on June 14. “Due to the Israel-Iran conflict, my flight was redirected to Austria, then Milan and then back to the UK. I took a new flight and reached on June 14,” she said.
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“They had packed everything Dhwani likes… They hoped to stay with her for some days before she started working,” said her 31-year-old cousin Parth Patel, whose mother Hemangi died in the crash.
On board the flight were several such proud parents who were heading to the UK to attend their children’s convocation.
Two others who lost parents to the Dreamliner crash are Ahmedabad’s Pratham Nanda (22), who was graduating from Nottingham Trent University, and Gracy Sagparia from Rajkot, who was graduating from the University for the Creative Arts, Epsom.
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Like Dhwani’s parents, they too had rescheduled their travel plans.
Younger brother gone too
Pratham is grieving the loss not just of his parents but of his younger brother, Prayash (18), too. Apart from attending Pratham’s convocation, the parents – founder of Cargo Motors Group Pramukh Pravesh Nanda and his wife Neha – thought they would also shortlist universities for Prayash.
An undergraduate student of business management and entrepreneurship, Pratham was waiting for his family to attend his convocation on June 16.
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“Prayash, who had just completed his Class XII, also wanted to study abroad, so the family thought it would be a good opportunity to look for universities. They were to visit two-three universities before finalising one,” Pramukh’s younger brother Pranav told The Indian Express.
Pramukh was a key figure in Gujarat’s automobile and transport sectors and was well-known in the state’s business circles. The bodies were cremated on June 17 after the mortal remains were handed over following DNA sample reports. Pratham reached Mumbai on June 13 morning, from where he travelled by road to Ahmedabad.
According to Pranav, the family was to leave on June 9 so they could get more time before the convocation. “But since our father was not well and had to be hospitalised, they delayed the tickets to June 12. The same day (of the crash), my father was discharged from the hospital in Ahmedabad,” Pranav said.
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Pratham says he plans to join and lead his family’s car dealership business, which was founded in 1959 and has operations in Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan.
Visa cancellation saved her
Gracy, who had wrapped up a four-year course in fashion design, recalled, “My father was not too happy to travel alone as my mother’s visa got cancelled just three days before June 12. I pushed him to continue his trip as he would not be able to witness this occasion again. He was coming to London just for me.”
Narsinhbhai Sagpariya, 63, a resident of Kalavad Road in Rajkot and a well-known architect, had booked the tickets for June 12 after several changes in the plan.
“I wanted my parents to plan the trip days ahead of the convocation since I wanted them to explore London and other places. This would have been their first foreign trip,” she said.