Crash vigil Gujaratis in UK mourn victims of air tragedy

As late afternoon sun streamed into a small square behind the Indian high commission in London yesterday, a crowd of 200 people gathered for a vigil – one of several held around the UK to remember those who died in the Air India disaster.

- Lanre Bakare

Candles were placed beneath a bust of Jawaharlal Nehru and attenders listened to interfaith leaders and members of the Gujarati community reflect on a shocking week of loss.

Ridhi Sarmah-Kapoor and Olivia Gearson, two students whose fathers had travelled from Gujarat to London recently, laid flowers outside India House in Holborn.

“My dad frequently goes back and forth to India and he uses Air India,” said Sarmah-Kapoor. “It gives it a personal connection – it’s like these people are my family.”

Gearson added: “It needs to be honoured. There were parents coming back for their children’s graduation – we’re both students, it really hit hard.”

Gujarati communities in the capital and other cities including Leicester have been gathering since the crash to commemorate the more than 270 people who died in one of the worst air accidents in Indian history.