Crash leaves a trail of unfulfilled plans

Ahmedabad was witness to the grief of hundreds of inconsolable relatives of the victims of Thursday's Air India crash that left around 260 people dead.

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While investigators rushed to piece together the sequence of events, from the few pieces of evidence, that led to the first ever fatal crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, families of the 241 passengers of the London-bound flight started pouring in to the city to get information about their loved ones.

Among those on the flight were Ahmedabad-based Pinakin Shah and his wife Rupaben, who were en route to the UK to meet their son Rushab.

"Rushab had bought a new house (in Glasgow). The f was excited as Pinakin's sister Janaki, who lived in Kuwait, and her two grandchildren were also going to be in the UK. Since Rushab and Janaki resided in two different countries, the coming together of the entire family was a rare occurrence," said Utsav Shah, one of their relatives.

"After the plane tragedy, Janaki has come to India and gave her DNA samples for identification of bodies, while Rushab arrived early on Friday. He is traumatised and inconsolable," he added.

AI-171 crashed into the hostel building of BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad 33 seconds after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Visuals from the airport showed the flight gaining a certain altitude, then beginning to descend rapidly before slamming into the ground and exploding in a huge ball of fire.

The flight has left a chaotic trail of destruction in its wake, with hundreds dead, several missing, and relief operations impeded by the temperature of the burning jet fuel and a strong stench of scorched human remains.