In the wake of the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, a medical hostel cook, Ravi Thakor, clings to hope as his mother, Sarlaben Pralhadji Thakur, and two-year-old daughter, Adhya Ravi Thakur, remain missing. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after takeoff, impacting the BJ Medical College hostel, where Sarlaben worked as a cook and where she was with her granddaughter at the time of the incident. The crash claimed the lives of at least 271 people, including passengers, crew, and individuals on the ground. Only one passenger survived the crash.
Ravi, who also works at the hostel mess alongside his mother and wife, had stepped out to deliver lunch boxes to the Civil Hospital with his wife, Lalita, just 30 minutes before the crash. This routine errand, which took them away from the hostel, now leaves them in agonizing uncertainty. Upon returning, they were met with a scene of unimaginable devastation – the hostel canteen engulfed in flames and wreckage.
Since the tragedy, Ravi and his family have been tirelessly searching for any sign of Sarlaben and Adhya. They have visited hospitals and the morgue, desperately seeking answers. The authorities are treating it as a missing persons case. Adding to the family's distress, the process of identifying victims is proving to be slow and arduous, with officials stating that it could take up to 72 hours to complete DNA analysis of the recovered remains. Ravi and Lalita have already provided DNA samples to assist in the identification process.
Amidst the sorrow and chaos, stories of survival have emerged, offering a glimmer of hope. The miraculous survival of a British-Indian passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, from the plane crash has fueled Ravi's hope for a "second miracle." He expressed his feelings while standing outside of one of the hospitals. His wife, Lalita, stood beside him, seemingly stone-faced. Despite acknowledging the bleak odds, Ravi said that they have not given up hope. He clings to the possibility that his mother and daughter might have been rescued amidst the chaos or that they may have somehow survived the impact. He even entertained the possibility that his daughter may have been taken away amidst the chaos.
The tragedy has deeply impacted the BJ Medical College community, with reports indicating that at least five medical students and the brother of a doctor were among those killed. Approximately 60 medical students sustained injuries in the crash, further highlighting the scale of the disaster.
As the search for the missing continues and the investigation into the cause of the crash gets underway, Ravi and his family, along with countless others affected by this tragedy, are left to grapple with loss, grief, and uncertainty. The authorities are still investigating the crash with teams from India, UK, and US. One of the plane's black boxes has been recovered. For Ravi, the hope of finding his mother and daughter safe remains a beacon in the darkness, a "second miracle" that he desperately prays for.
