Mum-of-two Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 41, who lived in Hounslow, London, has been the first British victim of the Air India plane crash to have her funeral after her body was returned to her family
The first funeral has been held for a British passenger who died in the Air India crash as the family of a woman who was a “gentle soul” laid her to rest hours after her remains were returned.
At least 270 people died when flight AI171 to Gatwick went down shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport in India. An investigation is now underway into what happened while bodies are being identified and returned to their families. Mum-of-two Elcina Alpesh Makwana, 41, was tragically one of the dead having taken the plane after visiting India to stay with her parents and have dental work.
She was identified through DNA testing and just hours afterwards taken to Pensionpora Cemetery Vadodara in Gujarat on Sunday morning for her funeral. Her husband Alpesh, 52, and her two children, aged seven and 11, had flown to India for the Catholic service. And her uncle Joseph Patelia told the Mail how she was a “gentle soul”.
He said: “Before take-off, she called her father to say she’d boarded safely and would call again once she landed. That call never came. She vanished just like that leaving us in shock, in tears, unable to believe what we were hearing. It’s been a nightmare for the family.”
Mr Patelia also told how she regularly travelled to India and supported poor children in the country by paying for their education. He said: “She had struggled a lot in life, moving to London over 15 years ago, taking on part-time jobs to support her family there and her parents here in India. She had no brothers, so she took on every responsibility herself. Her loss is devastating. She was the bond that held our entire family together.”
Meanwhile, candles have been lit around a statue of Jawaharlal Nehru as members of the UK’s Indian community gathered to honour the victims of the Air India plane crash. About 150 people took part in the multi-faith vigil outside the Indian High Commission in Holborn, London, on Sunday afternoon.
Mourners had travelled from as far as Leicester and Bradford to pay tribute, organisers said. The statue of Nehru – India’s first prime minister and a central figure in the country’s independence movement – was surrounded by flowers, tealights and photographs of those killed in Thursday’s crash.
Nilesh Solanki, 50, from the City Hindus Network and Action for Harmony, told those gathered: “When so many lives are lost in an instant, it’s hard to comprehend – and we ask the question why. Families, hopes, friends, people – vanished.
“Without even knowing the individuals, we felt the pain of these families. Coming together in this way is really important – it’s a lesson for all of us to reflect.”
Organiser Pranav Bhanot, 36, a lawyer from London, said: “We felt so helpless hearing about the crash. We wanted to do something about it. An air crash is always going to be quite devastating. We’re only a small island nation – we had friends, parents on that flight. We wanted to do something special to remember and recognise them.”
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off on Thursday. Most of the victims were severely burned, making identification difficult.