'Gave a hug, asked her to take care': Brother recalls emotional farewell to sister before tragic Air India crash

Air India confirmed the tragic toll on social media.

Pawan Patel, the brother of Rupal Patel — a 45-year-old London-based woman killed in the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI 171 — recalled the bittersweet farewell they shared moments before boarding the doomed flight, reported ANI.

Rupal, who had flown from London to India for medical treatment in Uttarsanda village, Nadiad in Gujarat’s Kheda district, died when the Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.

Patel told journalists: “My sister had come to Nadiad for treatment. She had a flight today and had to return to London. I had gone to drop her off. However, I got the news that the flight had crashed as soon as I returned home. My sister has been living in London for 15 years and is staying there with her husband and three children.”

He described helping her with the luggage at the airport and offering an affectionate farewell: “She was suffering from a medical condition. I helped her with her luggage and gave her a hug at the end. I asked her to take care of herself.”

Rupal, originally from Halol in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district and settled in the UK with her husband and their three children, was among the 241 confirmed fatalities. Only one survivor—a 40-year-old British national of Indian origin—escaped the crash in seat 11A before the Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliner collided with a BJ Medical College hostel during lunch hours. 

Air India confirmed the tragic toll on social media: “Of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities. The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital.”

Following the catastrophe, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu announced that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had launched a formal investigation in accordance with ICAO protocols.

The Patel family is now undergoing DNA sampling, with results expected within 72 hours, while grieving amid tributes shared online. The tragedy has devastated communities across India and abroad as families await the repatriation of loved ones and answers emerge from the ongoing inquiry.