Two young sisters in the UK have been left orphaned after their father died in the devastating Air India Flight 171 crash.
In a heartbreaking twist, the dad's death comes just over two weeks after their mother passed away following a battle with cancer.
Arjun Patoliya, 37, was among the 242 passengers aboard the doomed flight from Ahmedabad to London when it crashed into a residential area minutes after takeoff. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner burst into flames after striking a medical college hostel, killing 270 people in total, including 29 on the ground.
Just one passenger survived.
Patoliya had flown to India to fulfill his late wife Bharti Patoliya’s final wish: to have her ashes scattered in her home state of Gujarat. Bharti had died 18 days earlier in London after what family members described as a “courageous battle with cancer".
A Father’s Final Act of Devotion Ends in Tragedy
Bharti’s ashes were scattered in the sacred Narmada River, a holy site in Hinduism believed to purify the soul and aid in achieving spiritual liberation.
Patoliya carried out the funeral rites in his ancestral village, located about 150 miles from Ahmedabad.
As he boarded his return flight to reunite with their daughters - aged just four and eight - disaster struck. According to tracking data from Flightradar24, the plane took off from Ahmedabad at 1:39PM local time and reached only 650 feet before issuing a mayday call.
Moments later, the signal disappeared, and the aircraft slammed into the Meghani Nagar district.
Terrifying eyewitness video showed the plane climbing steeply before vanishing from view, followed by a deafening explosion and plumes of smoke rising from the crash site.
“Their World Turned Upside Down in Just Over Two Weeks”
A GoFundMe page set up by family and friends confirmed the devastating timeline.
“In a span of just 18 days, two young sisters — only 4 and 8 years old — have lost both of their beloved parents,” the fundraiser states. “Arjun left to bid farewell to his wife, never returned to the children they both raised. Now, these two beautiful young girls have been left without parents — their world turned upside down in just over two weeks.”
The fundraiser has surpassed £345,000, with all proceeds set to go into a legal trust for the girls’ long-term care.
“All funds raised will go directly to a legal trust or the appointed guardians to ensure every penny is dedicated to the girls’ needs,” the page notes.
Survivors and Investigation
The crash left 241 passengers and 29 people on the ground dead. The sole survivor, 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh from Leicester, recalled the horrific aftermath.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital,” he told the Hindustan Times.
The victims included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian. Among the dead were newlyweds, children, and a number of British residents.
Black Boxes Recovered, Investigation Underway
Indian aviation authorities have recovered both the digital flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. The investigation will focus on the aircraft’s engine, flaps, and landing gear, with terrorism not currently being considered a cause.
India’s Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed that the government has ordered extended surveillance on Boeing 787 aircraft and pledged support for affected families.
The investigation is expected to take three months, during which families continue to wait for DNA confirmation of the deceased. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site and met with some of the injured.
Our thoughts go out to every person impacted by this tragedy.