Recently engaged young couples were killed in Air India Crash, days following suggestions

A recently engaged couple were among the nearly 300 passengers who were killed in the Air India flight crash.

Hardik Avaiya, 27, and Vibhooti Patel, 28, had traveled from their home in Leicester, England, to be engaged in India – and was on its way back to Britain on Thursday, June 12, when Air India Flight AI-171 crashed tragically just a few seconds after start -up – according to reports from Times of IndiaThe BBC and Leicestershire live.

Speaks to TimesDarshan Patel, a elected official in Vibhooti’s hometown of Umbhel, Gujarat, said the couple had “come home on a 10-day leave to be engaged.”

“The couple had just celebrated their commitment to Umbhel last week before boarding AI-171 to return to the UK,” he added to the outlet.

One of the couple’s friends, Dhaval Patel, was on his way to Gatwick Airport to retrieve them from his trip when he heard the news of the air crash.

“We were about to pick him up when I got a call to say that a plane to Gatwick had crashed in Ahmedabad,” Dhaval told the BBC. “So we immediately checked the ticket and matched the flight number, and we just cried.”

“It’s devastating,” said another friend of the couple, identified as Margi by Leiceshire Live, said. “They were very good people. I can’t believe it has happened.”

Patel was a physiotherapist who had moved to the UK to get his master’s degree at Leicester College. Later she met Avaiya in the Leicester area, where he worked in a warehouse while he also volunteer work in their temple as secretary, the stores reported.

The couple’s friends also remembered those as high -performing who were active in their local religious society while talking to Leicesterhire Live and the BBC.

“When (Avaiya) left, he asked the staff if the temple needed something that returns, that’s the kind of person he was,” Dhaval told the BBC. “He didn’t like the limelight, he only worked in the background to get things done.”

Another member of their temple, Rajesh told Patel Leicestershire live That the entire Avaiya family lived in India, but he had found a community through their temple.

“On his days off, he would often visit the temple because he had no relatives in the UK, just his group of friends,” the friend said.

“He was Jovial, liked to crack a joke. He was dedicated, hard working, very nice,” dedicated Dhaval by Avaiya. “He was (a) Model Devoteee and Volunteer because he had selfless service.”

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Shortly after Air India Flight AI171 started from Ahmedabad Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport At 13:38 local time, it crashed into a residential area.

Air India confirmed that there was 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The passengers were Indian, British and Portuguese citizens as well as a person from Canada.

An official number of people who have died from the crash has not yet been released, but CNN Estimated that the death has escalated to over 290. Air India confirmed that a British man was “”only survivor“Of the total aboard the aircraft.

Avaiya and Patel’s friends and family in both Britain and India have been left and feel “absolutely destroyed” after the tragedy.

“It’s like losing a family member,” Dhaval told the BBC. “Events like this, people gather and give their respect, and (it) give us a kind of release from the feeling of shock and feeling upset.”

“It’s a feeling of helplessness, emptiness, normally if something goes wrong, we can sort things, but it has been very difficult,” he added.