How Air India crash victim’s grieving family discovered remains mix-up
Almost two months after Air India Flight 171’s deadly crash, some of the 53 British nationals on board are only now being laid to rest.
Some 300 friends, families, and locals from the Gujarati community in and around London gathered in Wembley for a prayer and memorial service dedicated to remembering some of the victims.
Wearing his father’s emerald ring that was miraculously recovered from the wreckage, Miten Patel addresses the crowd.
His parents, Ashok and Shobhana Patel, were travelling back to their home in Orpington, Kent, after a spiritual trip to India, when they were killed in the crash on 12 June.
Their funeral was held only days ago, after being delayed following the discovery that the remains of other individuals were found in Miten’s mother’s casket.
Ashok and Shobhana Patel were among 241 who died in the Air India plane crash
He credits Professor Fiona Wilcox, the senior coroner at Inner West London Coroner’s Court, for meeting with him and his family to break the news.
“My parents were the first ones repatriated in the UK,” Miten explains – he organised the repatriation of his parents before he flew out to Ahmedabad.
“When they were back home, the first thing that they did was a CT scan. And that’s when it came about, the CT scan showed that with mum’s remains, there were further remains there too.
“I don’t know what they were. I don’t know how many.”
The remains of other individuals were found in Miten’s mother’s casket
Miten’s parents’ funeral was attended by hundreds. His father, Ashok, was a financial adviser and his mother, Shobhana, was a retired microbiologist.
As the eldest son, organising much of his parents’ farewell fell to him. The concern around his mother’s remains delayed the family’s chance to grieve.
“I think there should be a level of responsibility taken. Why did that happen? Where was the flaw in that process? I mean I do understand that whole situation, people were rushing, people were very tired.
“You know, to get all the remains, then having to separate them by DNA, it’s a long process. But really, for us as loved ones, it is very upsetting.”
The flight crashed moments after take-off en route to Gatwick, killing 241 people on board. Horrifying images were beamed around the world within minutes.
Confusion and fear spread like wildfire among relatives back in the UK, who immediately tried to get hold of their loved ones.
Read more:
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Anger growing as Air India families wait for relatives’ remains
It was a family member of Komal Patel’s who called her after seeing the images on the news.
There was only one flight out of Ahmedabad back to London that day, and she had only just been texting her brother Sunny and his wife Monali, who’d been on holiday.
The events of the past few weeks have been unfathomable.
Sunny and Monali Patel were about to celebrate their 10-year anniversary
In her first interview about her brother and her sister-in-law, Komal explains how she flew out to India with her cousin Jina to go and identify her little brother.
“Because we weren’t really allowed to see the body, I don’t think I’ve really come to terms with it. I still think I’m dreaming and it’s not really real,” Komal tells us.
Sunny and Monali Patel were in their 30s and about to celebrate their 10-year anniversary.
Komal Patel flew to India with her cousin Jina to identify her little brother
The couple were the “light” and “soul” of their families.
They loved having fun, playing with their nieces and nephews and adored travelling. Komal says her brother loved barbecues and her sister-in-law worked with children and adored hers too.
“They’re just really fun, exciting, really lived life, just made memories, just made everyone really happy,” says big sister Komal.
“They were like the heart of my kids. Whenever they walked into a room, they just filled up the room with laughter and happiness.”
A photo of Sunny and Monali Patel, who died in the Air India plane crash, on display at a vigil
The couple had been due to fly back home to London a week beforehand but postponed their flight.
“It has just been very traumatic, very, very sad for us, losing Sunny and Monali at 39 years old,” says their cousin Jina.
“They were full of life and brought so much light into our family. As a family, we’re devastated at why two people so young, with so much energy, who brought so much into our families have just sort of gone in one day.”
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A joint funeral for the husband and wife was held a fortnight ago and like hundreds of families impacted by this tragedy, the family are now rebuilding a foundation that has been shattered.
