The victim was Arjun Patolia, father of two young daughters, aged 4 and 8. He had just fulfilled his late wife’s final wish — to bring her ashes back to their hometown in India and scatter them in the river near their village in Amreli district, Gujarat.

His wife, Bharatiben, passed away a week earlier in London. Before her death, she expressed her heartfelt wish for her ashes to return to India — the land where she was born and raised. Patolia brought the urn back home and carried out all the final rites with his relatives.

The man who died in the plane crash

His wife had passed away just about a week earlier.

Arjun Patolia was scheduled to return to London on June 12 to reunite with his two daughters. But tragedy struck: he lost his life in the ill-fated Air India flight AI-171, which was departing from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport in the UK.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers — including 53 British nationals — crashed just minutes after taking off at 1:40 p.m. local time. The plane went down in the densely populated Meghani neighborhood, killing everyone on board, including the entire crew.

Patolia’s heartbreaking story has deeply moved the public, as his two young daughters suddenly became orphans — losing both parents within a single week.

On June 12, Air India flight AI-171 crashed shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India.

The aircraft, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, reportedly plummeted into the heavily populated Meghani area around 1:40 p.m. and exploded violently. Although it was carrying only 242 passengers, the death toll has risen to at least 290, including casualties on the ground.

Recovery operations are ongoing. However, the process of identifying the victims remains extremely difficult. The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.