A grieving husband who was flying back to London after keeping a promise to his late wife to scatter her ashes in India has died in the Ahmedabad air disaster, MailOnline can reveal today.
Father-of-two Arjun Patoliya was heading home to the UK on Air India flight AI-171 after visiting a village in Gujarat to hold a funeral and immerse his late wife Bharatiben’s floral urn in a local river.
The couple have two children, aged four and eight, who stayed at home in the UK and are now mourning the deaths of both their parents in the space of a week.
His wife Bharatiben had tragically died just seven days ago in London and her dying wish was that her ashes were taken back to her home state in India.
The Narmada River runs through the Amreli region and is a sacred river in Hinduism, ranked second in sanctity only after the Ganges. Millions of devout Hindus have their ashes placed in rivers because it purifies the soul and ensures spiritual liberation.
After carrying out this final wish, Mr Patoliya completed several funeral rites with relatives in his village around 150 miles from Ahmedabad and was set to return to London on Thursday to be with his two young daughters.
Tragically, he died after the doomed Gatwick-bound Air India flight AI-171 carrying 242 passengers, including 53 British nationals, crashed just moments after take-off.
Arjun Patoliya had been visiting a village in the Amreli district in Gujarat to immerse his deceased wife’s ashes in a local river. He died in the Air India flight back to London – a week after his wife passed away in the UK
Mr Patoliya’s wife Bharatiben had tragically died just seven days ago in London and her final wish was that her ashes in a floral urn be taken back to her home in India. The couple have two daughters, aged four and eight. They stayed in the UK
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunded into buildings in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST) on Thursday.
Terrifying CCTV footage shows the plane appear to lose control before it starts rapidly descending with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.
Harrowing stories of those have perished in the disaster have started to emerge.
Two doctors and their children snapped a heartbreaking final selfie onboard the Air India plane just moments before disaster struck.
The picture was taken to celebrate ‘new beginnings’ as Komi Vyas, a doctor who worked in Udaipur, had quit her job and was moving to join her husband, Dr Prateek Joshi, in London, with their three children.
The selfie, taken by Dr Joshi, shows him and his wife seated on one side, smiling, and their young twin boys and elder daughter sitting across the aisle, also with huge grins on their faces.
The couple’s twin boys – Nakul and Pradyut – were five years old and their daughter, Miraya, was eight.
Dr Joshi’s cousin, Nayan said: ‘They left for Ahmedabad yesterday to take the flight to London. Prateek had come here just two days ago to take his wife and children with him.
‘Several other members of both families went to see them off.’
Dr Komi Vyas’ brother, Prabuddha, said she had married Dr Prateek Joshi 10 years ago.
There appears to have been just one survivor of the Ahmedabad air disaster – who walked off the plane with a few cuts and bruises in what is being called the miracle of seat 11A.
Tragically his brother, who was in the same row, is believed to have died.
Ajaykumar Ramesh, 35, and Viswash, 40, had been in India on a business trip before they boarded the doomed flight travelling from Ahmedabad to Gatwick on Thursday.
Viswash – seated in 11A by the exit – survived, but his sibling who was sat on the other side of the aisle in seat 11J perished in the fireball explosion.
Devastatingly, injured Viswash has been begging from his hospital bed: ‘Find Ajay, you must find Ajay.’
Last night, relatives gathered at the family’s terraced home in Leicester to comfort the brothers’ mother who is said to be too grief-stricken to speak.
‘It’s a miracle at least one of them survived,’ younger brother Nayankumar Ramesh, 27, told us.
‘He said his plane had crashed and he couldn’t find anyone, we couldn’t believe it. There was blood running down his face.
‘You can see in the picture (in the Indian Press taken in hospital) that he has been injured. We’re flying out there tomorrow.’
Hours after the crash, Nayan said the family were desperate for news about what happened to Ajay, as his phone was still ringing out when they called it.
Air India later confirmed that 241 of the 242 people aboard flight AI171 died in the crash – meaning all hope of Ajay’s survival was dashed.
‘We’re so confused’, Nayankumar said before the news. ‘We’re hoping he’s survived and been taken to hospital as well.’
Ajaykumar Ramesh (left) who died in Thursday’s plane crash and his brother Viswashkumar Ramesh (right), who miraculously survived
Ajaykumar, 35, was sat relatively near his brother who miraculously survived
The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon
The siblings had been a few seats apart onboard the plane, with survivor Viswash sat at 11A and his younger brother positioned at 11J on the other side of the aisle
Viswash lying in hospital with a bloodied face and injuries after the tragic crash, which claimed the life of his younger brother
Astonishing footage showed the man walking away from the scene with some visible injuries to his face
Younger brother Nayan Ramesh, who spoke of the heartbreak of losing one brother while another survived
Asked how the family are wrestling with the tragedy of one brother surviving and the loss of the other, he gestured to his sobbing mother, Manibai Ramesh, behind him.
‘That’s your answer’, the brother said. ‘We’re just baffled, baffled.’
He added: ‘It’s a miracle at least one of them survived.’
Nayan said his older siblings were in India on a business trip concerning their family business. Viswash was formerly the sole director of textile company RMV Fashion, which closed down in 2022.
The brothers’ cousin Ajay Valgi, from Leicester, told how Viswash called his family to say he was ‘fine’ after fleeing the burning aircraft.
But while they miraculously heard from one brother, younger sibling Ajaykumar was tragically never in touch.
Cousin Ajay told the BBC: ‘I’m feeling absolutely upset. He’s not just my cousin, he’s also one of my best friends as well.
‘They were sitting next to each other, but we don’t know what happened to [Ajay].
‘We’re not doing well. We’re all upset,’ he added.
Astonishing footage showed Viswash with visible injuries hobbling away from the scene of the crash. He reportedly sustained injuries to his chest, eyes and feet.
Police found the passenger in a residential area in Gujarat, and transferred him to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Speaking to local media from his hospital bed, Viswash said his brother had been sitting on a nearby row, adding: ‘I can’t find him anymore.’
‘Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,’ he added.
‘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.’
Police said Viswash had ‘managed to escape by jumping out the emergency door’.
A hospital medic reportedly claimed the survivor told him how the jet had suddenly split in half, throwing him out before a huge explosion.
Another added: ‘He told us he had been on the plane that crashed, but no one believed him at first.’
Brother Nayan said his brother was in disbelief at how he got out alive, saying on the phone: ‘I have no idea how I survived or exited the plane.’
‘When he was on the runway, my dad called him. And Viswash said, “oh, we’re going to take off soon”,’ he said.
‘And then literally like two minutes later, he video called my dad as he crashed.
‘He said, “our plane’s crashed, I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t see any other passengers. I don’t know how I’m alive, how I exited the plane”.
‘All he was worried about on the phone was telling us “find Ajay, you must find Ajay”,’ Nayan added.
