Air India Ahmedabad Crash: Families Reclaim Lost Belongings After Tragedy
Over six months after the devastating Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed the lives of 241 out of 242 passengers, the airline has initiated a poignant effort to return personal belongings recovered from the crash site to the grieving families. The Indian Express recently met with these families as they embarked on an emotional journey to reclaim fragments of what they lost, offering a glimpse into their struggles and resilience.
A Father's Heartbreaking Discovery
On January 6, Savdhanbhai Chaudhary traveled to Ahmedabad to collect his son Kamlesh's belongings, recovered from the crash site. Holding transparent ziplock bags, he was overwhelmed with emotion. Inside one bag was his son's charred wedding album, while another contained a desktop calendar featuring smiling photos of Kamlesh and his bride Dhapuben, with the inscription: "Two souls with a single thought, two hearts that beat as one." Other bags held PAN cards, Aadhaar, voter cards, marriage certificates, and college documents, all singed or yellowed from the impact.
Savdhanbhai stood in a cavernous room at a hotel in Ahmedabad, where Air India had set up a Family Returns Centre (FRC). This centre allows relatives of the victims to collect personal items of their loved ones. "I was holding on to the last things Kamlesh touched. I want to keep these with me forever," he later shared, sitting on a charpoy at his home in Banaskantha's Thavar village, 210 km from Ahmedabad.
The Recovery and Identification Process
From the crash site in Meghaninagar, Ahmedabad, Air India recovered 22,000 personal belongings from the Boeing 787's final flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick. Of these, 8,000 items were identified and traced back to individual passengers, marked as "associated." The airline sent emails to families with photographs of these items, inviting them to visit the FRC at their convenience.
Images of the remaining 14,000 "unidentified" belongings have been uploaded to a portal spanning 492 pages. Families can browse this portal to search for familiar items, such as:
- A baby's white sweater with pine trees and red trucks
- A blue 'Dad to-be' badge
- Bunches of rakhi, including one for a Superman fan
- Prayer books and beads
- Spools of kite strings and a child's toy
- A ghungroo, a white sock trimmed with lace, and a white metal chain
- Hair clips with blue stones, bobby pins, and pink sunglasses with a Barbie tag
- Religious items like a Goddess Kali idol, Ladoo Gopal idol, and a Hanuman Chalisa sheet
- A book titled Ar Raheequl Makhtoom (a biography of Prophet Muhammad)
Stories of Loss and Connection
Savdhanbhai's journey to the FRC was his third visit in six months. He and his wife Ratniben had dropped Kamlesh and Dhapuben at the airport on June 12, 2025, only to learn of the crash hours later. The couple died when the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College mess building minutes after takeoff. Kamlesh, who worked at a fancy goods store in London, had returned home for his wedding in November 2024 and was taking his bride back with him.
In a touching turn, Savdhanbhai now receives daily calls from Omar Ali, Kamlesh's Pakistani co-worker in London, deputed by their employer to check on the family. "We talk about everything, sometimes on video calls for over half an hour. This is how I learnt to speak Hindi," Savdhanbhai said, highlighting how this connection has brought solace. He recently sent homemade cow ghee to Omar, as he would have for Kamlesh.
Using compensation funds—Rs 25 lakh as interim relief, Rs 1 crore from Tata Trusts, and Rs 4 lakh from the Gujarat CM Relief Fund—Savdhanbhai repaid debts and bought a car as Kamlesh had wished. He also diversified his farming, growing musk melon on part of his land, embodying his son's advice to "think differently."
Other Families' Emotional Ordeals
Parth Patel, 31, received a call from Air India on January 5 about belongings of his mother Hemangi, uncle Rajni, and aunt Divyaben, who died in the crash. The email included images of his mother's passports and his uncle's wallet. Parth spent hours browsing the portal, eventually finding his mother's purse, but noted the emotional toll of the search.
Anilbhai Patel from Nikol, Ahmedabad, faced one of his toughest moments at the FRC on January 6. He broke down upon seeing documents of his son Harshit and daughter-in-law Pooja, including boarding passes, currency notes, degrees, and identity cards. "Harshit was my only son. He and Pooja had so many dreams," he said, recalling their plans to return to India in 2027.
Families Opting Out for Emotional Reasons
Not all families are ready to reclaim belongings. Krutik Patel, brother of budding cricketer Dirth Patel, decided against searching the portal to spare his mother further trauma. "Looking at my mother's emotional state, we do not want her to go through the trauma all over again," he explained.
Similarly, Ahmedabad-based entrepreneur Trupti Soni, who lost her brother, sister-in-law, and another relative, found the process emotionally straining but hopes to visit the FRC for closure. Sources indicate that of 150 emails sent to families, only about 90 responded, with around 25 visiting the FRC and 40 requesting courier services by January 21.
Air India's Commitment and Process
An Air India spokesperson emphasized the airline's dedication to supporting affected families with "utmost respect, dignity, and accuracy." The airline partnered with an external expert to catalogue over 22,000 items, sharing details via email and a dedicated website. Families have a 45-day window until February 20 to claim items, after which belongings will be handed over physically with privacy and compassion.
A Final Memory Preserved
Back in Banaskantha, Savdhanbhai cherishes voice texts from Kamlesh's employer and a 30-second video shot outside Ahmedabad airport on June 12, showing Kamlesh and Dhapuben clearing security. "I rarely take videos but don't know why I did that day. Maybe because I thought I should record my bahu's first flight," he reflected, holding onto these digital memories as a testament to his loss and love.
