Around thirty minutes before a devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, Ravi Thakor and his wife stepped out of the college hostel where they worked to deliver lunchboxes, leaving behind their two-year-old daughter and their elderly mother.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into the hostel building, killing at least 271 people, including the passengers, crew, and several individuals on the ground. Thakor’s daughter and mother have been missing since the accident, and he is desperately clinging to hope that they may have survived, despite the grim reality.
Thakor Searches Hospitals as DNA Matching Delays Agonize Grieving Families of Victims
Initially, Thakor mistook the loud explosion for a gas cylinder blast, but he was quickly confronted with the horrifying truth as he saw flames engulfing the very building he had just left. Over the following days, he has frantically searched local hospitals and morgues, hoping to find any trace of his loved ones.
The police are treating the case as a missing persons investigation. Despite the fading odds, Thakor remains hopeful, inspired by the miraculous survival of one passenger from the doomed flight.
Thakor and his wife have provided DNA samples to assist in the identification of remains, but as of now, no matches have been confirmed. Many families affected by the crash are enduring long waits to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones, as identification processes, including DNA profiling, are time-consuming.
According to hospital official Rajnish Patel, DNA matches have only been confirmed for 32 victims so far, prolonging the anguish for many grieving families.
Haunting Remains and Faint Hope Amid Ashes of Hostel Canteen Plane Tragedy
When the aircraft struck the hostel canteen, it was lunchtime, and several students were inside. The aftermath, as seen by Reuters reporters, revealed a chilling stillness—steel tumblers and plates with unfinished food still lay on the remaining tables.
Thakor recalled how his mother was still cooking when he left, and his daughter had just been rocked to sleep. The chaos following the crash has left him wondering whether someone might have taken the child to safety in the confusion.
Amid overwhelming loss, the sole surviving passenger, Viswashkumar Ramesh, has become a symbol of hope. He managed to crawl out of the wreckage with minor injuries, defying all odds. Thakor refers to his survival as a “first miracle” and continues to hope for a “second miracle” that could reunite him with his missing family. Though the likelihood is slim, he and his wife remain determined not to give up until every possibility is exhausted.