6 months of AI crash: UK dreams shattered following loss of loved ones

Ahmedabad: The tragic crash of Air India flight AI 171 in June has compelled some of the victims’ kin to abandon their dreams of a life in the United Kingdom.

Surat-resident Hiren Dayani’s mother Kailashben was one of the 260 persons who were killed when the Boeing 787-8 aircraft on its way to London crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after it took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here on June 12.

After her mother’s death, Dayani, who lost his father to cardiac arrest some time ago, left his high-paying job in London and permanently shifted to Surat with his wife Namrata to start a new life.

In London, he was working as a clinical research scientist, while his wife worked as a dental therapist.

“I went to London in 2020 after finishing my M Pharm, and had planned to acquire a PR (permanent residency) so that my wife and I can easily travel between two countries and stay for a longer period in India with my mother. She was travelling to London alone when the tragedy struck,” said Dayani.

After his father’s death, Kailashben was the sole caretaker of Dayani’s intellectually disabled younger sister.

“Now, since there is no one back here to look after my sister, I have decided to come back to Surat and start from scratch. My wife and I were offered some jobs, but the salaries were too low compared to what we used to get in the UK,” he said.

“So my wife has opened a dental clinic, and I am in the process of starting my own pharmacy,” he added.

Harish Godhaniya from Bhanvad town in Devbhumi Dwarka district lost his wife Riddhi and three-year-old son in the crash as they were returning to London following her dental surgery.

Godhaniya, who now lives in Jamnagar with his parents, said he is not going back to the UK where he was working as a data analyst for the last three years.

“I am not going back. I had planned to settle in the UK to have a better future for my son. But now, it has no meaning because my wife and son are no more,” he said.

“My wife and I were doing jobs in London and we had planned to settle there. But everything is over. I have not planned anything yet because I am yet to get over the loss,” he added.