On June 12, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner tragically crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, India. The ill-fated flight was en route to London’s Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom, carrying 242 people on board. The aircraft plunged into the BJ Medical College and Hospital in Ahmedabad, exploding into flames and claiming the lives of 241 passengers and crew. Only one survivor, Ramesh Viswashkumar, was found amidst the wreckage, tragically having lost his brother, Ajay, in the same incident.

In the aftermath of the horrific crash, the Tata Group, owners of Air India, announced a compensation offer of Rs 1 crore (10 million rupees) for the families of the victims. However, for many, this sum was profoundly inadequate. Falguni, an Indian woman who lost her father in the crash, emotionally reacted to the offer, stating that no amount of money could replace her beloved father. She passionately offered to pay Air India double the stipulated amount, Rs 2 crore, if they could bring her father back, emphasizing her sick mother's need for his presence and love. Falguni, along with other grieving families, was present at the BJ Medical College to provide blood samples for the identification of remains, a scene where emotions ran high with many breaking down in grief.

The crash cut short numerous lives and dreams. Among the victims was Sahil Patel, a 25-year-old from a middle-class family, who was traveling to the UK after winning a coveted two-year work visa under the British government’s India Young Professionals Scheme. His father, Salim Ibrahim, recounted their last conversation, where Sahil informed him of a flight delay, just minutes before the fatal crash. Another tragic story involved a 27-year-old man who mourned his newlywed wife, whose life, full of possibilities, was abruptly ended. The Nanda family, including Pramukh Nanda (who had celebrated his 48th birthday five days prior), his wife Neha, and their son Pravesh, were also among the casualties, on their way to London for their elder son Pratham's graduation. The crash also claimed the life of First Officer Clive Kunder, the co-pilot with 1,100 hours of flying experience, alongside Captain Sumeet Sabharwal. Even those on the ground were not spared, with teenage boy Akash Patni, who was resting near his family's tea stall, tragically killed. His mother, Sita, survived with injuries and remains in the ICU, unaware of her son's death.

Eyewitnesses recounted the horrifying moments. Poonam Patni, whose sister-in-law was on the flight, visited the crash site and described seeing numerous burnt bodies amidst the ongoing efforts of firefighters to douse the flames. Haresh Shash, another eyewitness, reported that the plane was flying unusually low before it plunged into the building, causing a sound like a massive blast as both the aircraft and the college building erupted in fire. Another local described hearing a loud noise resembling an earthquake from his home before realizing the true horror upon reaching the scene, where he witnessed the crashed plane and many bodies.

Miraculously, some individuals narrowly escaped the tragedy. Savjibhai Timbadia, who had booked a seat on the ill-fated flight for June 12, decided to postpone his trip by four days, a decision that ultimately saved his life. He expressed profound gratitude for his miraculous escape, attributing it to divine intervention. Similarly, Bhoomi Chauhan missed the flight by just ten minutes due to arriving late at the airport, a delay that inadvertently spared her life. These stories of survival underscore the arbitrary nature of the disaster.

In a separate but related incident that underscored aviation safety concerns, an Air India flight (AI2354) from Mumbai to Bangkok was significantly delayed after a passenger, Hanshi Paramjeet Singh, discovered a bird's nest on the aircraft's wing. The pilot, upon being shown the photo, commendably decided to delay the flight for a technical inspection. Ground crew removed the foreign particles, and the aircraft was eventually changed, a decision taken cautiously days after the fatal Air India crash. In another peculiar turn, a Nigerian lady, Peace Ogbonna Daniel, claimed to have had a prophetic vision of the Air India crash before it occurred, expressing guilt for not having prayed to avert the tragedy.