One year since the Air India tragedy - families commemorate

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane crash that occurred on June 12, 2025, special memorial and religious ceremonies have been organized by the family members of those who lost their lives in the accident. This accident occurred at B.J. in Ahmedabad.

Relatives and friends of the deceased gathered near the hostel complex of the Medical College and remembered their loved ones with deep sorrow. Sitaben Patni, who survived the accident but lost her 14-year-old son Akash Patni, broke down in tears in front of a photograph of her son placed near the accident site, while other relatives present comforted her.

53 British nationals also lost their lives in this unfortunate plane crash, and the British High Commissioner to India, Ms. Lindy Cameron, also paid her respects to those who died in the accident. Additionally, a special memorial service is scheduled to be held in Leicester, UK, this coming Saturday to commemorate the deceased. The staff, students of B.J. Medical College where the plane crashed, and family members of the victims jointly organized a special commemorative event on the college premises, where a blood donation camp was also held in memory of those who lost their lives in the accident.

Some families have taken steps to hold these commemorative activities away from the accident site. Saralaben Thakur and her two-year-old daughter Aadhya lost their lives due to the plane crashing into the hostel complex of B.J. Medical College. Photographs of the two are still visible on the walls of their small home in Ahmedabad, and religious ceremonies were organized for them at a nearby temple to mark their first death anniversary. Uma Thakur, Saralaben's daughter, stated over the phone that these religious ceremonies were organized at a temple because their home was too small for the nearly 200 relatives, neighbors, and friends expected to attend the event.

Members of the Thakur family refer to June 12 as a "black day." They say that the profound grief caused by the incident still remains, so they have even removed the clocks from their home. They sadly mention that even looking at the time brings their minds back to those terrifying and frantic hours spent rushing to hospitals and morgues across Ahmedabad immediately after the accident, searching for any information about Saralaben and Aadhya.