The family of filmmaker Mahesh Kalawadia, also known professionally as Mahesh Jirawala, has submitted DNA samples to authorities after he went missing on the day of the devastating Air India flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad.
The flight crashed into the Meghaninagar-based medical college campus shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 passengers and crew out of 242 on board, as well as 29 people on the ground.
Kalawadia, a resident of Naroda and known for directing regional music albums, had gone to meet someone near Law Garden that afternoon, according to his wife Hetal. She recalled that her husband had called her at 1:14 p.m. to say his meeting had concluded and that he was heading home.
"My husband called me at 1.14 pm to tell me his meeting is over and that he is on his way home. However, when he did not return, I called up on his phone but it was switched off. After police were intimated, the last location of his mobile phone showed he was 700 metres away from the crash site," she told news agency PTI.
"His phone got switched off around 1.40 pm (a minute after the ill-fated flight took off). His scooter and mobile phone are missing. All this is unusual since he would never use that route (as per the last location) to come home. We have submitted DNA samples to check if he was one of those killed on the ground due to the crash," Hetal added.
The Air India flight took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39 p.m. on Thursday. The crash occurred minutes later, at a location distressingly close to where Kalawadia's phone was last active.
Due to the intensity of the crash and resulting fire, many of the victims’ bodies were either burned beyond recognition or severely damaged. Identification of the deceased is being conducted primarily through DNA analysis.
As of Sunday evening, authorities confirmed that 47 victims had been identified through DNA testing, and 24 bodies had been handed over to families. However, dozens more remain unidentified.
The crash has become one of the deadliest in the country’s aviation history, with a combined death toll of 270. Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the crash, with both black boxes recovered and sent for analysis.
For families like the Kalawadias, the agonizing wait for answers continues. “We are praying he is alive somewhere… but each day that passes without news is unbearable,” Hetal said, her voice breaking. ( With PTI input)
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