Agra, June 13 (IANS) Agra residents Neeraj Lavania and his wife Aparna Lavania were among the victims of the tragic Air India Flight AI-171 crash, which claimed 241 lives. The devastating news has plunged their native village, Akola in Agra district, into deep mourning.

Relatives and villagers have been gathering at the Lavania family home to offer condolences. The grief-stricken atmosphere reflects the profound sense of loss experienced by the entire community.

Speaking to IANS, Pramod Kumar Sharma, a relative, said, “He was my uncle’s son. His behaviour was always kind and respectful. The whole village is in shock. No one could have imagined such a tragedy. People are coming from nearby areas to console us. The women in the family are inconsolable.”

Neeraj’s nephew, Shubham Lavania, added, “We are getting all our information from the news. Only one person survived the crash. The entire family is heartbroken.”

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London-Gatwick, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport around 1:30 p.m. on June 12.

The aircraft slammed into the residential building and mess of BJ Medical College in the densely populated Meghani Nagar area, just 3 kms from the airport, bursting into flames.

At the time, medical students were gathered in their hostel’s dining hall, many of whom are also feared dead.

Of the 242 people on board, only one passenger — Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin — survived. He is currently receiving treatment in an Ahmedabad hospital.

Rescue and identification operations are ongoing at BJ Medical College, where authorities are using DNA sampling to identify charred remains. The process of handing over bodies to bereaved families has begun.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site and met with survivors and injured victims at the hospital.

Expressing his condolences, he stated, “The loss of so many lives in such a heartbreaking manner is beyond words.”

The cause of the crash remains under investigation as authorities continue to sift through the wreckage in what has become one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters in recent history.

–IANS

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