A tragic Air India plane crash occurred on June 12, 2025, at Ahmedabad, shortly after a Boeing Dreamliner took off from Ahmedabad Airport. This devastating incident claimed the lives of 241 people onboard, shattering the dreams and aspirations of many families. Among the victims were Pooja Patel, 28, and her husband Harshit Patel, 33, a married couple who lost their lives in the catastrophe.

Pooja and Harshit, who had been married for eight years, had moved to the UK two years prior, settling in Leicester among a thriving community of people from their native Gujarat, India. They were originally from Ambika Nagar in Gujarat. In May, the couple had returned to India for a family visit, surprising Pooja’s 58-year-old mother, Chandra Mate. Chandra Mate expressed immense joy at seeing her daughter after two years, noting the transformative effect of Pooja’s presence. She recounted, “When I saw her after two years, it was a kind of joy I had never known. The entire neighbourhood came out to greet her and Harshit. Her glow, her presence – everything about her had changed.”

However, their happy reunion was tragically cut short as Pooja and Harshit were returning to the UK when the crash occurred, and they never made it back to Leicester. Pooja had made a poignant promise to her mother: she would buy her a washing machine to ease her domestic work. This promise, sadly, will now remain unfulfilled. Chandra Mate deeply regretted not accompanying them to the airport on their last day, lamenting, “If only I had gone to drop her off, I would’ve had a few more hours with her.”

The profound grief extended to Harshit’s father, Anil Patel, who, in a testament to their deep bond, stated his intention to cremate the couple together. He emphasized their inseparable nature in life and his refusal to separate them in death. The incident also garnered attention when a Nigerian woman, Peace Ogbonna Daniel, claimed on Facebook that she had a premonition of the Air India crash, seeing the event unfold like a movie before it happened, and expressed guilt for not having prayed about the impending tragedy.