Tributes are being made to the passengers who died on the Air India flight bound for London Gatwick airport that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India. There were 242 passengers and crew onboard the plane, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian. One passenger, the 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash and was treated in hospital for injuries. Here are some of those reported to have died: Ajay Kumar Ramesh Ajay Kumar Ramesh was sitting alongside his brother, Vishwash, on the opposite side of the aisle. The brothers had been travelling home after visiting family in India. Dr Prateek Joshi, Komi Vyas and three young children; twin boys Nakul and Pradyut, aged five, and daughter, Miraya, eight Joshi, who worked at the Royal Derby hospital, is believed to have been travelling back from India, where his wife and children were based. The Derby Hindu Temple paid tribute to the family on its Facebook page, saying: “Dr Joshi [and his family] were devotees of our Mandir and supported us through their sincere service and dedication.” Neil Ryan, who lived next door to them for two years, also described them as “the nicest family”. Akeel Nanabawa, Hannaa Vorajee and their daughter, Sara, four Akeel Nanabawa, 36, lived in Gloucester. The businessman built up a recruitment company, Rec2go, before establishing Iceberg Recruitment Services. The company’s head office is in Gloucester but it also has a branch in Ahmedabad, its website states. His business partner, Shoyeb Khan Nagori, told MailOnline: “I had dinner with them last night. They were a lovely family and Akeel and his wife were extremely successful people.” Vorajee, 30, a trained midwife, was the head of finance at Rec2go. In a statement paying tribute to the family, their imam, Abdullah Samad, said: “Together, [Nanabawa and Vorajee] were committed advocates for humanitarian causes – particularly the suffering of innocent Palestinians and the urgent need for accessible medical care in parts of India. “They were widely loved and deeply respected. His quiet generosity, her warmth and kindness and their daughter’s bright, joyful spirit made a lasting impact on everyone who knew them.” Their neighbour Safeer Shah, 47, said the family had been on holiday in Malaysia and Indonesia before heading to the Gujarat state of India to surprise Nanabawa’s father for Eid al-Adha festivities. The family had moved from Newport, south Wales, about 10 years ago. Nanabawa travelled to India regularly for business, he added. Nanabawa had three brothers who lived in the Tredworth area of Gloucestershire, as well as his mother, Shah said. “They had plans for the future,” he said. Next-door neighbours Henry and Ros Rickards, who have lived in the street for about 30 years, said the family were the best neighbours. “Sara was the loveliest girl; she loved our dog,” said Ros. “The dog never barked at her – she was so lovely. She was a gorgeous little girl.” Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek Fiongal, 39, and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, 45, ran the Wellness Foundry in south London and Ramsgate, Kent, a business offering psychic readings, tarot, reiki and yoga, and had partnered with major brands such as Netflix, Google and Dior. The couple married in 2022, with Jamie praising his “wonderful husband” in a Facebook post, and thanking him for “keeping me calm in times of stress (sunshine after the rain)”. He added that his heart was “so full of love and gratitude”. A former fashion designer, Fiongal founded the Wellness Foundry in late 2018 after experiencing a spiritual awakening following a mysterious illness, according to its website. His husband, a former professional dancer, joined the team in March 2023 as co-director and head of events. He also offered psychic readings and life coaching. Both were alumni of the College of Psychic Studies. The couple were returning home after a 10-day wellness retreat. The couple captured the happy time they had in India in a series of social media posts, including getting henna tattoos, shopping for fine fabrics and other gifts and driving through chaotic traffic in a tuk-tuk. They arrived in Ahmedabad just a day before flying back. Fiongal had posted in a video: “So, it’s our last night in India and we’ve had a magical experience. Some mind-blowing things have happened. We are going to put all this together and create a vlog. It’s my first ever vlog about the whole trip and we want to share it.” In the airport before takeoff, the pair filmed a video of themselves joking before the 10-hour flight back to London. Fiongal said the pair were “going back happily, happily, happily calm”. Adam and Hasina Taju and their son-in-law, Altafhusen Patel Adam Taju, 72, and his 70-year-old wife, Hasina, were flying with their son-in-law, Altafhusen Patel, 51, who lives in London with his wife. The couple’s granddaughter, Ammaarah Taju, spoke of her shock and disbelief at her parents’ home in Blackburn. She said her father, Altaf Taju, had driven to London to be with his sister as they received updates about the crash from Air India and government officials. Javed and Mariam Syed, and their two children, Zayn, five, and Amani, four Javed Ali Syed, a hotel manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia hotel in London, and his wife, Mariam, were travelling with their children, Zayn, five, and Amani, four. Syed was an award-winning hotelier and had previously worked for the Comfort Inn London. Mariam worked at Harrods. Hardik Avaiya and Vibhooti Patel Friends of the couple, who lived in the the Belgrave area of Leicester, told Leicestershire Live of their shock at losing two people they described as “lovely”. Margi, 30, a close friend, said: “It’s devastating. They were very good people. I can’t believe it’s happened.” Margi said she knew Avaiya, 27, and Patel, 28, through her husband, who had been travelling to Gatwick airport to collect the couple when he learned of the crash. She said: “My husband was on his way to pick them up yesterday from Gatwick but halfway he got the news.” Avaiya worked with Margi’s husband, where they had built a close friendship over several years, she said. “The couple were also active members of their local temple community, where they were known for their kindness and generosity,” she added. Avaiya also volunteered at the temple. Raxa Modha, her daughter-in-law, Yasha Kamdar, and her two-year-old grandson, Rudra Raxa Modha, 55, from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, and her two-year-old grandson, Rudra, were believed to have been flying back to England for a cremation and memorial service for Modha’s late husband. Modha had been in India for some time, fulfilling the dying wish of her husband, Kishor, who had wanted to live out his last days in his homeland. He died there in April. They were returning to the UK to organise a prayer meeting later this month at the Highfield community centre in Wellingborough. The couple, who ran an Indian food catering firm called Pooja Caterers, had three children and one grandchild. It thought that Kishan, Modha’s son, was taking another flight home. Speaking to MailOnline, a family friend said: “It’s incredibly sad, the whole family is already grieving Kishor’s death.” Jaya Tailor, who lives in Wellingborough, said she knew Modha personally and that she was “a real people’s person”. “She helped her husband build a business,” she said. “She loved having people around her. She was kind, generous [and] loving.” Dhir and Heer Baxi The sisters, in their 20s, were on their way back to London after having made a surprise trip to visit their grandmother for her birthday. Dhir was doing a degree in fashion design while Heer worked as a product manager in the investment and renewable energy sector. The Baxis’ elder brother, Ishan, told the Telegraph: “I can’t express what my complete family is going through – shell-shocked … is what I can say right now. “Both had a natural aura of helping and always cared about family values. They both had aspirations to be successful enough to roam around the world, tension-free. Along with their parents, they both had a proclivity towards modernisation without changing traditional values. “Both my sisters know what is right and what is wrong, thus whatever work they carried out, in academics or fashion, they always got success with no conflicts amongst peers or seniors.” Renjitha Gopakumaran Nair Renjitha Gopakumaran Nair was returning to the UK after a holiday to see family in her home country. The nurse and mother had just left her job at Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and is thought to have been in the UK for a year. Her former colleagues at the NHS hospital said she was a “beautiful lady” who showed her patients and co-workers “so much love and care”. Gopakumaran, said to be in her 40s, “had the biggest heart and brightest smile”, one former colleague said. Arjunbhai Patoliya Arjunbhai Patoliya, 37, had travelled to India from London to scatter the ashes of his late wife, Bharatiben Patel, in a river in the village that they both grew up in. She had died just three weeks earlier from cancer. The pair are survived by their two daughters,eight and four years old. The children had been left with Patel’s sister while their father flew to Vadiya in Gujarat. A close friend and neighbour of Patoliya told the Telegraph: “He is just like my son. He was a nice person, a very nice person. It’s an accident. I don’t know what to say, I’m speechless – such a lovely neighbour. He was such a lovely character, he looked after me as well from time to time.” Patoliya was a furniture designer and was described by the neighbour as being a “family” person who was very active in the community. Sayedmiya and Nafisabanu Inayatali, and their son, Waqueeali, 25, and daughter, Taskin, 22 Sayedmiya Inayatali, 48, had flown over to India to visit his 90-year-old mother with his wife, Nafisabanu, 46, and their children. Shahid Vhora, 52, a relative, had texted the family before the flight to let them know he would pick them up at Gatwick when they arrived. He told Metro: “I can’t believe this has happened. I was preparing to pick them up. They had been visiting Sayedmiya’s mother. “They took a picture as they were about to board. They were so happy to be coming home … When I received the news of the crash I was devastated. We are a very close family, we all live together. My life has been torn apart.” Sayedmiya was an IT programmer who lived in Wembley with his family. Vhora described the family as “perfect” and very hardworking, adding that Taskin was studying to be a doctor and Waqueeali had been working in IT like his father. He said: “Sayedmiya and myself did everything together. We have had so many happy times. Now I have to go to India to try to sort things out.” Adnan Master Adnan Master, 30, was visiting relatives in India with his wife and child. It is understood he was travelling back to London by himself; his family live in Forest Hill. A friend of Master told the Telegraph that he was “probably one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet”. They added that he had two jobs, both as a delivery driver and working in a DIY shop in east London. They said: “He was just one of the hardest-working people you’d ever meet. He just didn’t stop, and everything he did was for his family. Everything he spoke about was for his family: ‘I want to make my child have a good life.’” Vijay Rupani Vijay Rupani, a former chief minister of Gujarat who led the state until 2021, was killed in the crash. A tribute was made to the member of the governing BJP party by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, who remembered Rupani as “simple and gentle in nature” and “hardworking.” Rupani was travelling back to London, where his family had planned a Father’s Day and religious celebration. The family has since travelled to India, the Guardian understands, and had met with Modi. “I am not ready to accept that Vijaybhai is no more with us,” Modi said in a tribute on X. “We have worked shoulder to shoulder in many challenging times. Vijaybhai, who was simple and gentle in nature, was very hardworking and committed to the ideology of the party.” Panna Nagar For 15 years, Nagarwas headteacher of Northfleet nursery school in Kent. She is remembered by her grandchildren as “the heart of the family”. “She shaped our lives in more ways than we can count and she will be sorely missed,” said a Facebook post by her granddaughter Ciara Chudasama. A tribute from Northfleet nursery school remembered Nagar as more than just an educator. “She was a guiding light, an inspiration, and a champion for every child and staff member lucky enough to walk through her doors.” Ranjitha Gopakumaran Gopakumaran, 42, was returning to the UK where she worked as a nurse after a visit to her village in Kerala. She is remembered as “the brightest among all the children in our family”, her uncle Unnikrishnan Panthaplavil told Indian news outlet The Quint. Kinal Mistry Kinal Mistry, 24, was dropped off by her father at Ahmedabad airport, when Suraj Mistry took a family photograph, not knowing it would be their last as she promised to meet again soon. Speaking at the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad, a tearful Mistry told the Guardian he remembered his daughter as “a wonder” and “beautiful, inside and out”. “She lit up every room with her smile, she could strike up a friendship with anyone,” he said. “That’s just who she was.” Prakash Lal Minarhia Prakash Lal Minarhia had been working as a chef in London for 15 years. He had returned to India to perform rituals after the recent death of his father. Relatives told the Guardian on Friday that they still had not been able to bring themselves to inform his mother and wife, who remained in their village, about the crash. “Until we have his body, nothing is certain,” said Uday Lal Minarhia. Sahil Salim Ibrahim Patel Patel, from a small village in Gujarat, was en route to London for a dream scholarship that he believed would change his family’s life forever. It was his first-ever international flight. “Will they give him back to us in a closed box?” his father, Salim Ibrahim, told Al Jazeera over the phone. “I just … I cannot bear for anyone to see him like that. I want him to be brought home with dignity.” Gaurav Brahmbhatt and Kalyani Gaurav Brahmbhatt For many years Gaurav and Kalyani Brahmbhatt had lived in London before returning to Gandhinagar city in Gujarat nearly three years ago, according to local media reports. “They were extremely hard-working and very friendly, fun-loving, always motivated us to have big dreams” a friend of the couple, Trupti Telrandhe, told the BBC. Harshit Patel and Pooja Patel Harshit, 30, had moved to Britain with Pooja, 28, who was studying for a master’s degree. The couple had returned to India to visit a doctor, according to the New York Times. “They were my everything, they were my support,” Harshit’s father, Anil Patel said. Patel, 60, said they would video call each other daily, and on their visit, had sought to get him a passport so he could visit the couple in Leicester. “They bid goodbye and went happily,” he recalled of their airport exchange.
Author: Amelia Hill, Jamie Grierson, Alexandra Topping and Joe Coughlan