Ahmedabad crash: Kerala nurse returning to London after home visit among fliers
Ranjitha had returned to India from the UK just four days earlier to complete formalities related to her government job
The plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday (June 12) had 242 passengers on board, one of whom was a Kerala native.
Renjitha Gopakumar, from Pullad, Pathanamthitta, was a nurse in London. Renjitha was returning to London after visiting her hometown. She had left for Ahmedabad from Pathanamthitta on Wednesday evening.
Renjitha leaves behind her two children, aged 15 and 12, and her mother.
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Planned to return to Kerala
Priya, a close relative of Ranjitha’s, was inconsolable. “Before travelling to Ahmedabad yesterday, she called up to say bye,” she told The Federal.
“I am at a loss for words. Renjitha’s two children stay with her mother and study in Kerala. She had been living in London only for the past six months. Earlier, she was in Muscat. Only recently did she build a house and she was planning to return to Kerala after 6 months or so. I am still in disbelief,'' said Priya, in tears.
She came to Kerala four days ago
Ranjitha had returned to India from the UK just four days earlier to complete formalities related to her government job, hoping to rejoin service after a stint abroad. She had come home to Pullad, full of hope -- to finalise plans for a new house, and to move her children and elderly mother into a safer, more stable life. But what was meant to be a short trip filled with purpose and promise ended in heartbreak.
Ranjitha had taken the first available ticket to return abroad, boarding the flight from Chennai to Ahmedabad.
Ranjitha had worked as a nurse in the Kerala government health service but had taken leave to pursue opportunities overseas, hoping to secure a better life for her children -- 15-year-old Induchoodan, a 10th-standard student, and 12-year-old Etheka, who is in seventh standard.
After her father passed away some years ago, Ranjitha had taken on the full responsibility of raising her children with the help of her mother, Thulassykuttiyamma.
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The crash
The Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which departed from Ahmedabad for London, crashed in a residential area of Meghani Nagar near Ahmedabad airport around 1.45 pm on Thursday.
The DGCA has confirmed that there were 242 people on board, including 230 passengers, 10 cabin crew members, and two pilots. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar were controlling the aircraft.