Mr Sareen said following the news of the crash, members of the community came to the temple on Thursday to mourn those who died.

"Many people, including myself, had tears in our eyes, we just couldn't believe what had happened," he said.

"Even if you didn't know the people who died in the crash, it is still extremely upsetting."

Mr Sareen hopes the memorial service on Sunday will help the community heal.

"We want to let people know we stick together during difficult times," he added.

Shyam Govinda, who represents the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) community in Crawley, told BBC Sussex people were "shocked" and "devastated" by the news.

"Many people are affected by it, our community especially because of the proximity of the airport to Crawley," he said.

"There is a large Gujarati community here, many of us have family members and friends in Ahmedabad so the tragedy seems a lot closer to home."

A special prayer session will be held on Sunday at 17:00 BST at the Bhakti Yoga Centre.