Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Bihar Mourns Air India Crew Member Manisha Thapa's Death, 'The Girl Who Always Smiled'
Originally from Biratnagar in Nepal, her family settled in Bihar as her father and two uncles are posted in the Bihar Police.
Published : June 13, 2025 at 8:33 PM IST
By Dev Raj
Patna: Manisha Thapa had flown across several countries and served hundreds of passengers during countless trips, but her final journey ended in tragedy—leaving her family in deep mourning.
The bright and cheerful cabin crew member, Manisha, was aboard the Air India flight AI-171, which crashed near Ahmedabad on Thursday, and was one of the 12 crew members who lost their lives in the devastating crash. The news about her death in the mishap sent shock waves across her family and neighbourhood. A few members of her family have gone to Ahmedabad to identify her body and bring it back.
Manisha’s father, Raju Bahadur Thapa, is currently working with the Bihar Police and is posted at Begusarai, while the family resides at Shyama Apartments in the Jagdeo Path locality in the state capital. Her mother, Lakshmi Thapa, is a housewife, while her younger brother Amit Thapa is currently studying.
Originally from Biratnagar in Nepal, the family settled because, apart from Manisha’s father, her two uncles, Bablu Bahadur Thapa and Guddu Bahadur Thapa, are posted in the Bihar Special Armed Police (BSAP) battalion – I.
Guddu shared that a friend of Manisha called her brother to inform him about the plane crash at around 2:30 pm on Thursday.
“My nephew informed me. We then informed my elder brother Raju (Manisha’s father), who was in Begusarai. He rushed to Patna and left for Ahmedabad with his wife. When I saw the videos on YouTube, I felt that she could not have survived. She was such a brilliant and meritorious student,” Guddu told ETV Bharat.
He added that the sad news had not been shared with his mother (Manisha’s grandmother) because she was not keeping well.
Their neighbours were shocked that the girl who was liked by everybody in the neighbourhood for her good nature and smile was no longer alive.
Manisha had completed her formal education in Patna. She did her graduation from St Xavier’s College in Bachelor of Business Economics during the batch 2014-17 and went on to join IndiGo Airlines as ground support staff.
She left it to join Akasa Air and then became a cabin crew member of Air India last year. She was often deployed on flights going to London and Australia.
The shocked teachers and students of her college have called a condolence meet on Saturday morning, inviting her friends, family, and batchmates also to attend it.
Meanwhile, the Disaster Management Department has released helpline numbers 0612-2294204, 0612-2294205 and the toll-free number 1070, on which people can inform about anybody affected by the Air India plane crash.
