Stories

Sun, 07 Jun 2026

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 'We don't look at the sky any more': The Air India crash victims who were not on the plane

A grandfather, a survivor, a witness: one year after the crash, the people on the ground tell their stories.
The BJ Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad still stands as an open wound a year after being hit by an Air India plane crash that killed 260 people. Photographs of the victims, including Prahlad Thakur's wife and granddaughter, hang on the peeling walls of his home, reminding him of the pain every time he looks at them. The sound of planes passing overhead is a constant reminder of the tragedy for Thakur, who was searching for his loved ones in the wreckage. "Whenever a plane passes by, we feel the same pain," he says. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, but for those affected, it's not just about what happened - it's also about how to move forward. Dean Meenakshi Parikh remembers the aftermath as a series of tragedies folded into one. "One part of me was occupied with what needed to be done," she says. "Another was trying to understand what had happened." The college has planned a prayer meeting, blood donation drive, and tree planting ceremony to mark the anniversary of the crash. For Thakur, moving forward is a daily struggle. He reaches for his phone to watch a video recorded the day before the crash, showing his granddaughter feeding her grandmother. But even that can't help him look away from the pain. The community is still grappling with the aftermath of the tragedy, and it's unclear how long it will take to heal.