Air India crash: Families tell of their devastation and search for answers

MANY IN CITY KNEW VICTIMS OF THURSDAY'S TRAGEDY

- By DYLAN HAYWARD

FRIENDS and families of Leicester victims of the Air India crash that killed 241 people on board have told of their desperate search for answers.

The tragedy has deeply affected the city’s close-knit Gujarati community, with many residents knowing victims directly or indirectly.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed on Thursday shortly after take-off in one of the deadliest aviation tragedies in terms of the number of British nationals killed.

The aircraft struck a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board.

Speaking to the Mercury, relatives of victims have described scenes of confusion and desperate searching as they tried to contact loved ones and piece together information about what happened.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

The connections throughout Leicester's Gujarati community run deep, particularly affecting areas such as Belgrave and Rushey Mead.

Hardik Avaiya, 27, and fiancée Vibhooti Patel, 28, from Belgrave, travelled to India to discuss their future with family after their recent engagement. The couple had been planning their wedding and building a life together in Leicester, with Hardik working at Amazon and Vibhooti a physiotherapist at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Dhavli Patel, 25, had spoken to his friend, Hardik, just minutes before take-off on Thursday. He received the devastating news of the tragedy within minutes of it happening.