A seven-month pregnant woman and her husband were among the 270 people who died in the tragic Air India plane crash on June 12. Vaibhav Patel, 29, and his 27-year-old wife Jinal Goswami were travelling back from Ahmedabad, India, after celebrating their baby shower with the family.
However, the parents-to-be never made it to their home in the UK. The couple were living in Croydon, London, but had recently moved from Southampton in Hampshire, where Mr Patel had worked. Their funeral was held in India on Monday. According to their close friend, Nirav Patel, the couple were very happy and excited for the birth of their first child.
Nirav, who lives in Southampton, said he had been friends with Vaibhav for over a decade and knew him from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, reports the BBC
He said that Viabhav, who had been married to his wife for four years, was a “good person who always supported his family and friends”.
He added: “When he worked in Southampton I saw him a lot. We worked together at Papa Johns in Portswood. The couple were in Ahmedabad to celebrate their own baby shower. It was on the 5 June. She was seven months pregnant. They were very happy.
“Vaibhav did not have a father, so he was the big son supporting the family back in India.”
Aboard the flight were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. Medical authorities in India have reported recovering 270 bodies from the crash site.
Nirav said news of the came as a huge shock to him and all of the family in India. He said: “He had rung me two days before the flight to tell me he was coming home.
“We were very good friends and had so much fun together… many trips around India, like to Goa or Rajasthan. This is a massive loss.”
The manager of Papa John’s in Portswood, Southampton, where Vaibhav Patel had previously worked, said he was a “true gentleman”.
Harshil Thakar said his ex-employee “worked very hard and was a family man”.