Grieving families said prayers and offered flowers at the site of last year's Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on Friday as friends, strangers as well as dignitaries joined them in observing the sombre anniversary of their loss.
Junior doctors planted 260 saplings during a prayer meeting at BJ Medical College and people held candles in remembrance near the college's hostel complex that will be redeveloped as a medical hub to serve as a lasting memorial to the departed.
The families await closure, seeking to know what exactly happened in the moments before the plane went down, as the crash investigation has not been concluded. In April, families of 30 victims wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting the release of Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and black box data to uncover the truth.
"I want justice. My daughter should get justice and her money should be donated. I want to donate all of it," said Savita Ben, who lost her daughter and son-in-law in the crash.
Mahesh Jirawala, a 34-year-old film-maker who produced Gujarati songs and albums, was one of the 19 people who died on the ground.
"We learned that his location that day was about 500 meters away from the crash site, so we kept searching for him, but we couldn't find him," Jirawala's father told PTI Videos.
"Later, we received a call from the Civil Hospital informing us that my DNA matched with his." Among those who paid tributes on Friday was British High Commissioner Lindy Cameron, who arrived at the memorial site in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad, laid down a bouquet of flowers and stood in silence to express solidarity with everyone affected by the tragedy.
"One year ago today, the tragic Air India crash claimed 260 lives, including 52 British nationals," Cameron said in a post on X.
"I will never forget arriving in Ahmedabad and visiting the site on that day. My thoughts are with all the families affected, and I thank my team who stood up immediately to support them and have continued to do so in the toughest circumstances. I am back with some of them in Ahmedabad today," she said.
She then reached the Civil Hospital campus to take part in a prayer meeting at the BJ Medical College to pay tributes to the victims, including 4 MBBS students who were inside their hostel when the plane crashed on the structure 32 seconds after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport on June 12 last year.
"Lindy Cameron was among the dignitaries who paid tributes to the departed souls at the prayer meeting organised at the BJ Medical College by the junior doctors," the Civil Hospital's medical superintendent Rakesh Joshi said.
After the meeting, students, doctors and other dignitaries planted 260 trees as a tribute to the departed souls, Joshi said. A blood donation camp was also organised in the premises by doctors as a tribute.
Among those who were killed on the ground was 14-year-old Akash Patni, who had gone to hand lunch to his mother at the family's small tea stall near the hostel when disaster struck.
"We have organised a Sundarkand and Hanuman Chalisa prayer session at 6 pm in the evening to honour the memory of our son Akash and all the other victims of the plane crash," Akash's father, Sureshbhai Patni, told PTI Videos.
His mother, Sitaben, who still bears visible burn scars from the crash, sat beside a garlanded photograph of Akash, tears flowing down her face as she remembered her son. The prayer and bhajan ceremony will be held in the backdrop of the charred building of the crash site on Ghoda Camp Road in the Shahibaug area.
In an earlier conversation with PTI, Akash's mother said, "I tried to save my child, but he succumbed to his severe burn injuries." Struggling to cope with the void that lingers in her home, Sitaben spends most nights outside, sitting on an old bed laid in a parking area near their residence. Akash was the youngest among four siblings. He has three sisters.
The daughter of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, one of the victims of last year's horrific plane crash in Ahmedabad, on Friday paid tributes to her father on the first anniversary of the tragedy, saying not a single day passes without remembering him.
The family of a cabin crew member, who died in the plane crash in Ahmedabad, continues to recharge his mobile phone and keep an active connection so that they can keep sending him WhatsApp messages, holding onto his memory amid enduring grief.
For parents of 22-year Irfan Sheikh, one of the cabin crew members who perished in the tragedy, the loss-coping mechanism has been to share their daily routine on WhatsApp with a hope the messages had been delivered to him.
Sameer Sheikh, Irfan's father, on Friday said the Pune-based family has been recharging his mobile number so that they can keep sending him WhatsApp messages.
"It's been a year (since the accident). We keep sending him messages on his WhatsApp, tell him about our routine. We have recharged his mobile even today. We feel the messages had been delivered to him," Sheikh said as he breaks down, showing the messages his family sends Irfan on his mobile.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released an interim report in July last year, giving no reason for the crash, though a paragraph in it suggested that fuel switches of the plane's engines got cut off after takeoff.
For the families, the wait has been agonising. They cling to memories of loved ones lost in the tragedy while struggling with unanswered questions. With no conclusive report, their grief has compounded, leaving them without closure or clarity about how the accident happened.
A lawyer with a US-based law firm representing more than 130 victim families from India and the UK has requested the central government to release the flight’s technical data, saying the information is crucial for those seeking justice and pursuing legal remedies.
Under international aviation rules, a final accident report is expected within a year if feasible; if that is not completed, an interim statement can be issued. On May 8, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the investigation into the crash was in the last stages and the report was likely within a month.
"The crash investigation is in the final stage and could even be completed in a month. However, the investigation is being done by the AAIB and we don't interfere in it. We are giving them all the resources they need," he said.
Federation of Indian Pilots president C S Randhawa on Thursday said they wanted the AAIB to release the final report only after completing a comprehensive investigation. Referring to media reports suggesting the AAIB could issue an interim report, Randhawa said such a move would create further confusion and speculation.
"If there is no conclusion from the investigation, releasing an interim report will only lead to more misunderstandings," he said.