Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Kheda Elderly Couple's Wish To Meet London-Based Son Remains Unfulfilled

Pravinbhai and Ranjanben Patel of Kheda have been to London four times to meet their son, who has been living with family for two decades.

Kheda: Pravinbhai and Ranjanben Patel, an elderly couple from Sinhali village of Mahudha Taluka under Kheda district, were in the ill-fated Air India flight (AI171) that ploughed into a neighbourhood shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 onboard.

The couple was flying to London to meet with their son, who has been living with family for two decades. They got visas a decade ago. The crash separated in moments two daughters and a son from their parents forever, and the grandchildren were bereft of their grandparental affection forever.

The Patel couple have been to London three to four times. But their love for the homeland made the son build a new house in their native.

The family members had just returned home after seeing off the Patels for London when the news of the crash reached them. The DNA sample of their daughter was collected to identify their bodies. The son will be in India soon to attend the last rites of his parents.

Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi on Sunday said 22 more deceased have had their DNA samples matched. With this, a total of 42 deceased in the tragedy have been identified so far through DNA sampling. "Update as of 1.00 pm - From 9 PM last night to 1 PM today, our teams have worked tirelessly to match DNA samples. We are pleased to report that an additional 22 DNA samples have been matched, bringing the total to 42 matched DNA samples so far," Sanghavi said in a post on X.

Update as of 1.00 pm

From 9 PM last night to 1 PM today, our teams have worked tirelessly to match DNA samples. We are pleased to report that an additional 22 DNA samples have been matched, bringing the total to 42 matched DNA samples so far. https://t.co/9HxmXhwAUj

— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) June 15, 2025

"The state Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) unit team and National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) team are working through the night to match more DNA samples," he said, adding that former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's DNA had also been matched.