Ahmedabad Plane Crash | Udaipur Man Returning From Father's Funeral Dies, His Friend Also Among Deceased
The duo, Prakash Chandra Menaria and Vriddhi Chandra Menaria, both chefs in the UK for years, were residents of the Menar area of Udaipur.
Published : June 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM IST
|Updated : June 13, 2025 at 8:16 PM IST
By Kapil Pareek
Ahmedabad: The plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed several lives on Thursday, but the story of two friends from Rajasthan’s Udaipur stands out for its heartbreaking tragedy.
The duo, Prakash Chandra Menaria, and Vriddhi Chandra Menaria, both chefs in the United Kingdom for years, were residents of the Menar area of Udaipur.
Prakash Chandra, who came to Udaipur after his father's death, was returning to London after completing his four-month leave. At the same time, his friend Vriddhi Chandra was also with him.
Prakash had sent a selfie to his family before boarding the flight from Ahmedabad airport. He was living in London for 20 years and worked as a cook there. His father had died two months ago, after which he returned to India to perform the last rites.
After his four-month leave, he booked a return ticket, which was canceled twice. When the ticket was booked for the third time, his friend Vriddhi Chandra also left with him.
Prakash's brother said, "This time, he was going with the plan to arrange his daughter's marriage, but fate snatched away the daughter's father and the family's support."
At the same time, Vriddhi Chandra Menaria was also a cook in London. This time, when he left, his wife and children had reached Ahmedabad airport to see him off. As soon as the family was on the way back after seeing him off, they got the news of the accident on the way and they returned to Ahmedabad.
The families of both the deceased reached Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where the DNA sampling process was completed. The bodies will be handed over by the administration after the identification process. They will be later handed over to their kin.
The crash occurred on Thursday afternoon when a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171), carrying 242 people-- including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani-- crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Only one person survived the crash.
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