London's Gujarati community 'in shock' following aftermath of deadly Air India crash

Isha Bhargava · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 13

Members of London, Ont.'s Gujarati assemblage accidental they're reeling from daze and devastation pursuing a level clang that killed hundreds and injured others in northwestern India on Thursday, marking the county's deadliest aviation catastrophe successful decades.

Air India formation AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed into a residential country 5 minutes aft takeoff in Ahmedabad, a metropolis of much than 5 cardinal people. A dentist from Mississauga, Ont., is among the much than 240 fatalities.  

For some watching the tragedy's aftermath unfold thousands of kilometres distant successful southwestern Ontario, the nonaccomplishment has been personal, said Bhavin Patel, whose champion friend's parent was killed successful the level crash. 

"It's truly a precise tragic incidental and wholly unbelievable. We are each precise shocked close now," helium said. "We mislaid a batch of loved ones, and we each are waiting to cognize wherefore this incidental happened."

Patel, who is president of the Indian Culture of Southwestern Ontario, said his telephone has been ringing nonstop since Thursday morning, with assemblage members frantically searching for answers and loved ones backmost location describing the chaos connected the ground. 

LISTEN: How the local Indian community is grieving lives mislaid successful Air India crash

"My friends [in Ahmedabad] told maine determination were bodies everyplace and radical rushing to springiness their humor to the radical if determination are survivors, truthful the humor slope is moving astir the clock," helium said.

"This is simply a pugnacious clip for everybody and a lot of students [in London] are disquieted astir their parents due to the fact that they can't pass with them. Everyone is conscionable panicked and disquieted astir what to bash and what not to do."

Part of the Boeing Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers and a crew, fell connected apical of the eating country of B.J. Medical College. At least 5 aesculapian students were killed and astir 50 others were injured, according to the Federation of All India Medical Association, a nationalist assemblage that represents nonmigratory doctors crossed the country.

Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would person been afloat loaded with substance soon aft takeoff, and surrounding multi-storey buildings with h2o successful the densely populated area, wherever charred bodies laid on the ground.

Officials said 1 passenger, a British nationalist of Indian descent, survived the disaster. Others connected committee included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, 7 radical from Portugal and Nirali Sureshkumar Patel from Mississauga, the airline said successful a societal media post. 

"It's conscionable a clip to commune for [victims'] families truthful they volition person support," said Mayur Patel, who owns Junction Indian Street Foods successful London. "With the photos of the crash, I tin ideate the radical who must've been burning successful the plane. It's a precise achy infinitesimal for everybody."

News of the deadly clang has shaken up the assemblage who is anxious to cognize what caused it, said Binal Patel, who was eating astatine the edifice and is unrelated to the owner. 

"I would similar to decidedly cognize what made it happen, that's a curiosity but I conjecture it'll instrumentality clip to find out. I conscionable commune for their souls," she said.  

Dhruv Prajapati is acceptable to alert to Ahmedabad on an Air India level connected Friday and said the incidental has evoked immoderate anxiety, but helium hopes officials volition soon person answers arsenic to what went wrong. 

"Lets anticipation [the airline] takes some action, I don't cognize what went incorrect but I'm definite they volition enactment amended regarding their upcoming flights and they volition instrumentality much precautions," said Prajapati. 

"The concern is truly bad, it's each fume astir Ahmedabad metropolis and I've seen the dormant bodies connected societal media, it's truly the worst ... we can't adjacent find who the idiosyncratic is."

The London assemblage volition stitchery astatine London's Victoria Park connected Sunday to commune for the victims and their families. Indian Culture of Southwestern Ontario has besides cancelled its yearly "Colours of the Beach" lawsuit which takes spot each July successful Port Stanley, pursuing the tragedy.