Donations flooding in to help family of plane crash victim

A Somerset village is in mourning after it emerged that the father of the man who runs Pensford’s post office was one of the passengers killed in the plane crash in India.

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Kirit Patel was on his way to his annual holiday staying in the village, where he would often be seen helping out behind the counter of the shop.

Donations to a fundraiser set up to support the family soared after the news was revealed with thousands now having been pledged by locals.

The amount donated to the fundraiser went from just over £5,000 on Monday to £10,000 by Tuesday morning, as word spread of the tragedy affecting the village in the Chew Valley.

The fundraiser was set up to support the Patel family, who have flown to India in the aftermath of the plane crash that killed around 240 people.