Ahmedabad plane crash turns celebration into tragedy as law student Dipanshi, who delayed her return to London to celebrate her parents’ anniversary, dies after the flight change. “She wanted to celebrate it with them,” said a relative.
New Delhi: It felt like fate was waiting for Dipanshi Bhadoria, a young woman from Ahmedabad who was studying in London.
She could have been alive today, but destiny had other plans. Dipanshi gave a big surprise to her family by flying from London to India on March 27, just in time for her father’s birthday.
Initially, she was set to return to London on May 20, but she made a spontaneous choice to postpone her trip.
A relative shared with mid-day,
“She told her overjoyed parents that she would cancel her original ticket and reschedule it for June 12, as their wedding anniversary was on June 11. She wanted to celebrate it with them.”
At the airport, Dipanshi captured a selfie with her parents and said her goodbyes before boarding her flight.
The relative said,
“Just as the family reached home, they heard the news of the plane crash,”
“It was as if the floor had collapsed beneath them. Within minutes, the house was plunged into shock and grief.”
Dipanshi arrived in Ahmedabad on March 27 to surprise her family, especially her father. She was supposed to return to London on May 20, but fate had other plans. June 11 marked the wedding anniversary of her parents, now shadowed by deep sorrow.
The incident involved a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which crashed shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft, carrying 242 individuals, including 12 crew members, went down into a doctor’s hostel situated just outside the airport perimeter.
According to Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India flight AI 171 took off at 1:39 p.m. local time.
Just five minutes later, it crashed into a residential locality known as Meghani Nagar. The aircraft was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, with First Officer Clive Kundar as the co-pilot.
Officials reported seeing heavy black smoke at the crash site. Rescue and relief operations are currently underway, with multiple agencies on-site to assist survivors and investigate the cause of the accident.
There were 232 passengers and 12 crew members onboard.
The airline confirmed that the flight had 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, and 1 Canadian national.