UK investigators arrive in India for plane crash
UK air accident investigators have arrived in India as tributes continue to pour in for victims of the Air India plane crash.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off on Thursday in what is one of the deadliest plane accidents in terms of the number of British nationals killed.
The aircraft struck a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.
In central London on Saturday, victims of the crash were remembered during Trooping the Colour in honour of the King’s birthday, which included a minute’s silence.
Senior royals and officers taking part in the service were also asked to wear black armbands as a mark of respect.
At least 25 more bodies were found in the debris by recovery crews working at the crash site until Friday evening, officials said, and it is unclear whether they had been on the flight or on the ground.
The Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad has received 270 bodies, Dr Dhaval Gameti told the Associated Press.
The sole surviving passenger, British man Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, is still under observation for some of his injuries but is “doing very well and will be ready to be discharged any time soon”, Dr Gameti said.
The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) announced on Friday night that four of its investigators, who will look into the plane crash, had arrived in India and have expertise in aircraft operations, engineering and recorded data.
The “release of information on the investigation rests solely with the Indian authorities”, it added.
The black box flight recorder was recovered from a roof near the crash site and could reveal vital clues about the cause of the accident.
Hundreds of relatives have provided DNA samples to help officials identify victims’ remains.
Tributes for plane crash victims
People attending a vigil in London on Saturday to remember the victims became visibly emotional after learning that two young girls had been orphaned by the disaster.
Faith leaders from the Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities led the service at the Siddhashram Shakti Centre in Harrow, north-west London, where 20 of the victims are thought to have previously worshipped.
Harrow mayor Anjana Patel said that two young girls had lost their father in the crash, just weeks after their mother died from cancer.
Their father, Arjun Patoliya, had flown to Gujarat to scatter the ashes of his wife, Bharti.
He was returning home to his daughters, aged four and eight, when the plane went down.
“The saddest incident we have got here in Harrow is one parent had already died here because of cancer,” Ms Patel said, as the crowd audibly gasped.
“The husband went to do the rituals in India and coming back, he was on board. He has left two little girls behind and the girls are now orphans.
“I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us.”
A couple who had already lost their only son in a previous aviation tragedy were on the plane, said Shri Rajrajeshwar Guruji, who leads the Siddhashram Shakti Centre.
“This couple had gone to India for a religious celebration – they were coming back and now this has happened,” he said.
“After what has happened to their son as well – it’s just terrible to think about.”
A family of three from Gloucester were also on the flight, their family said.
Akeel Nanabawa, Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter, Sara Nanabawa, were “widely loved and deeply respected”.
Ms Vorajee volunteered at a local Islamic school and was also a director of an organisation promoting understanding of the religion, an imam said.
Mr Nanabawa ran a recruitment firm called Iceberg Recruitment Services which had a branch in Ahmedabad, according to the company’s website.
Speaking in Gloucester on Friday, Zaheera Nanabawa said her cousin, Akeel, was the “glue” that held the family together.
“They were away as part of their trip to Singapore and Malaysia, before they went to India,” she said.
“This whole news is absolutely shocking and devastating for us, and it will leave a hole within our family.”
Their imam, Abdullah Samad, said: “This young family was incredibly close-knit – devoted parents and their beautiful young daughter.”
The British survivor spoke of the horror of watching people “dying in front of my eyes”.
From his hospital bed on Friday, Mr Ramesh told DD News: “I still can’t believe how I survived.”
The 40-year-old told the broadcaster the plane felt like it was “stuck in the air” shortly after take-off before lights began flickering green and white, adding: “It suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been in contact with him to offer consular support after the plane crash, Downing Street said.
The crash site was visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of India, on Friday, with video footage showing him talking to Mr Ramesh in hospital.