Six months after the June 2025 Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad that killed 241 of 242 passengers, the airline is returning recovered personal belongings to victims' families. Relatives collect these items amid deep emotion, seeking remnants of their lost loved ones. The Indian Express spoke with affected families.
On June 12, 2025, Air India's flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick crashed into the BJ Medical College mess building minutes after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board. From the Meghaninagar crash site, the airline recovered 22,000 personal belongings, with 8,000 identified and linked to specific passengers. Air India established a Family Returns Centre in an Ahmedabad hotel, allowing relatives to collect these items, while images of the remaining 14,000 unidentified pieces fill a 492-page online portal for families to browse.
Savdhanbhai Chaudhary received charred items like his son Kamlesh and daughter-in-law Dhapuben's wedding album, PAN cards, and Aadhaar documents. Kamlesh, 26, worked in London and had returned to bring his new bride. "I was holding on to the last things Kamlesh touched. I want to keep these with me forever," Savdhanbhai said from his village in Banaskantha. The family used compensation—Rs 25 lakh interim relief, Rs 1 crore ex-gratia from Tata Trusts, and Rs 4 lakh from the Gujarat CM Relief Fund—to buy a car as Kamlesh had promised and repay loans for his UK move.
Parth Patel, 31, got his mother Hemangi's passports, uncle Rajni's wallet, and later spotted her purse on the portal. Anilbhai Patel collected his son Harshit's and daughter-in-law Pooja's intact documents, marksheets, and boarding passes from recovered bags. Some families, like Krutik Patel's, who lost budding cricketer brother Dirth, chose not to retrieve items to avoid renewed trauma.
An Air India spokesperson stated, "We understand this is an emotional and difficult moment. Air India is committed to stand by every affected family, ensuring they receive support, care, and compassion." Of about 150 emails sent, around 90 responded, 25 visited the centre, and 40 requested courier delivery by the February 20 deadline.
