One year on, families of Air India crash victims demand answers, accountability
There were tears and sombre remembrances as families of the Air India crash victims gathered at a hotel in Ahmedabad to mark the first anniversary
There were tears and sombre remembrances as families of the Air India crash victims gathered at a hotel in Ahmedabad to mark the first anniversary of the disaster demanding justice for the dead. While many have received compensation from the airline, they said justice still eludes them and they wanted the government to release the final report on the crash. “We want answers… We are still waiting to know the cause of the accident,” one of the family members said. “My daughter died a year ago and we are still waiting for answers from the government on how it [the crash] has taken place… there is no official statement or clarity on what exactly happened on that ill-fated day,” said Atulbhai Patel from Surat. His daughter, Vibhuti Patel, a physiotherapist in the U.K., was aboard the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner which crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, 2025. “My daughter came to India for 15 days and was engaged to a man from Gujarat who was living in the U.K.,” Mr. Patel said, wiping away tears.
The aircraft went down barely seconds after take-off, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers and the crew, and 19 people on the ground. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was one among those killed. While tributes were paid to the victims, whose photographs were adorned with garlands, rose petals and lamps, the family members and the Federation of Indian Pilots bemoaned that there was no statement from the Prime Minister or the Gujarat Chief Minister, nor any public representative was present on the first anniversary of the crash. “If a similar incident had occurred elsewhere in the world, particularly in Western countries, people would have gathered and taken out rallies across the country in memory of the victims. But nothing has happened in India,” the federation’s president C.S. Randhawa said. He asked the family members to demand land from the government and build a memorial at the crash site. British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron reached the crash site in the city’s Meghaninagar area and offered floral tributes to the victims, saying her thoughts were with all the families affected by the tragedy.
She was among the rare dignitaries to pay her respects at the crash site, and her visit made the absence of State or Central government representatives more conspicuous. Fifty-two British nationals were among the 260 persons killed in the incident. “One year ago today, the tragic Air India crash claimed 260 lives, including 52 British nationals,” Ms. Cameron said in a post on X. “I will never forget arriving in Ahmedabad and visiting the site on that day. My thoughts are with all the families affected, and I thank my team who stood up immediately to support them and have continued to do so in the toughest circumstances. I am back with some of them in Ahmedabad today,” she added. Later, she took part in a prayer meet organised at the B.J. Medical College to pay tributes to the victims, including four MBBS students who were inside their hostel when the plane crashed on the structure. Deepak Menaria, who came from Udaipur, said he lost his father, Vardichand Menaria, a chef, in the crash.
Vardichand was going to London on business and was supposed to be back in India by July 1. “But now, he is gone forever… no amount of compensation can replace him in our lives. On his next trip, he was planning to take us all to London,” Mr. Deepak said. Sitting quietly on a chair was Anil Ambalal Patel, a former security guard from Ahmedabad, who lost his son Harshit Patel and daughter-in-law Pooja Patel, both 30. The couple, who lived and worked in London, had surprised him with a visit to Ahmedabad — their first since 2022. They had planned to undergo fertility treatment during their stay and hoped to start a family. “It’s been a year and so far, nobody from the government has reached out to us for help, which is very heartbreaking,” he said. Later in the evening, the bereaved families held a candlelight vigil near the site.
The BriefWire