Two entire families from London are among the Britons believed to have died after a Gatwick-bound flight crashed in western India.
Identities of people on the Air India flight AI171, which came down soon after take-off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, have begun to emerge.
Inayatali Saiyedmiya Saiyed, 48, and his family travelled from Wembley, to Ahmedabad for Eid celebrations.
Engineer Mr Saiyed was on board with wife Nafisa, 46, daughter Taskin, 25, a doctor, and son Waquee Ali, 22, who was in his final year of studying computer science at City University in London.
Javed Ali Syed, his wife Mariam, son Zayn and daughter Amani, four, were also on the tragic flight. Mr Syed was general manager of the Best Western Hotel in Olympia and is wife worked for Burberry at Harrods.
An employee at Best Western Olympia said staff were told the family had died in the crash, The Times reported.
Mr Syed studied at both the University of Mumbai and Anglia Ruskin University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business and hospitality management.
Grieving Arjun Patoliya was flying back to London after keeping a promise to his late wife Bharatiben to scatter her ashes in the sacred Narmada River.
The couple had two children, aged four and eight, who stayed at home in the UK and are now mourning the deaths of both their parents in the space of a week.
An IT programmer, his wife and two children from north west London sent family a selfie moments before boarding and are now feared dead.
Sayedmiya Inayatali, 48, had been visiting his 90-year-old mother with Nafisabanu, 46, gaming products worker son Waqueeali, 25, and aspiring doctor daughter Taskin, 22.
Shahid Vhora, 52, a relative who lives with family in Wembley, had been preparing to pick them up from Gatwick.
He told Metro: “I can’t believe this has happened. I was preparing to pick them up. They had been visiting Sayedmiya’s mother.
“They took a picture as they were about to board. They were so happy to be coming home.
“I had a text exchange with them about me picking them up at Gatwick, then nothing.
“When I received the news of the crash I was devastated. We are a very close family, we all live together. My life has been torn apart.”
Other Britons on the plane included Akeel Nanawaba, 36, his wife Hannaa Vorajee, 30, and their daughter Sarah, four, who were flying home from a five-day family celebration when the Dreamliner crashed.
The successful young couple ran a global recruitment agency with offices in Ahmedabad and Gloucester, Mail Online reported.
Their business partner Shoyeb Khan Nagori told the Mail: “I had dinner with them last night. They were a lovely family and Akeel and his wife were extremely successful people.
“They were here to celebrate a family festival and to spend some time with Akeel's father.
“Akeel was a really good man, I'm in shock, we were all having dinner together the night before.”
Family members told the BBC they had passed away.
Recently widowed Raxa Modha, 55, her grandson Rudra, two, and her daughter-in-law Yasha Kamdar are all believed to have been onboard the flight.
Mrs Modha was in India fulfilling the dying wish of her ill husband Kishor who had wanted to live out his last days in his homeland.
They filmed themselves in footage posted on social media joking and laughing just hours before their flight departed after a trip to India.
His brother Nick Meek, a caretaker from Birmingham, told the Times: “We were expecting him home tonight. He should have landed at 6.30pm and then driven up for about 11 to get his dog who is staying with our Mum.
“She is not in a good way. It is all very raw for her at the moment. It’s a lot to take in and we only heard this news a couple of hours ago.”
He said the couple had been in India for ten days visiting a wellness retreat.
The couple run The Wellness Foundry which provides spiritual wellness from bases in London and Ramsgate, Kent.
Mr Greenlaw-Meek appeared on ITV’s This Morning earlier this year, and former editor of the show Martin Frizell praised his “vibrancy” and “enthusiasm”.
“So so sad to hear that Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek and his partner are reported to be among the passengers and crew killed on board the Air India flight bound for Gatwick,” he said in an Instagram post.
“I remember his visit to the studio in January, he was passionate about auras and although I’m a sceptical sort his vibrancy and sheer enthusiasm won folk over.”
Sisters Dhir and Heer Baxi, both from London, were visiting their grandmother to celebrate her birthday. They had been in seats 17J and 17H. Fashion student Dhir spent time in Paris before their planned trip to Ahmedabad.
A relative wrote on social media: "We all pray to give peace to his soul and strength to the family to bear this shock."
Adnan Master, 30, from Forest Hill, was visiting relatives in India with his wife and child. It is believed he was travelling back to London alone. One friend said Mr Master was “probably one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet” and worked two jobs - one at a DIY store in east London and another as a delivery driver”.
Vijay Rupani, 68, a former chief minister of Gujarat who led the state from 2016 to 2021, was travelling to London to meet members of his family.
Two doctors and their children snapped a heartbreaking final selfie onboard the doomed Air India plane just moments before disaster struck.
The picture was taken to celebrate “new beginnings” as Komi Vyas, a doctor who worked in Udaipur, had quit her job and was moving to join her husband, Dr Prateek Joshi, in London, with their three children - twin boys Nakul and Pradyut, five, and their daughter, Miraya, eight. Dr Joshi’s cousin, Nayan, said: “They left for Ahmedabad yesterday to take the flight to London. Prateek had come here just two days ago to take his wife and children with him.
“Several other members of both families went to see them off.”
Dr Vyas’ brother, Prabuddha, said she had married ten years ago.
Radiologist Dr Joshi, was a "wonderful man" who entertained colleagues with stories about "his newly-discovered love of fish and chips and enthusiasm for walking in the Peak District", a colleague who worked closely with him said.
Dr Rajeev Singh, consultant radiologist and clinical director for imaging at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Prateek was full of joy, he was a wonderful man, friend, husband and father, and an exceptional radiologist who was highly respected in his field. He approached everything with a smile, radiated positivity and had a great sense of humour."
He moved to Derby, from India, in 2021, quickly becoming a beloved colleague.
"He often entertained colleagues with stories about his passions outside of work, including his newly-discovered love of fish and chips and enthusiasm for walking in the Peak District.
"He touched the lives of so many people, both through his clinical work and as a colleague and friend to many.
"It is hard to accept that a man with such a passion for life, and his beautiful young family, have been taken in this way.
"His passing has left a profound void, not only in his professional contributions but in the warmth and spirit that he gave to the world every day."
In total there were 53 British passengers on the flight that crashed shortly after take-off at 1.38pm local time (9.08am BST).
Air India confirmed 241 of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were killed on Thursday when the aircraft crashed into a medical college shortly after its take-off .
The flight was carrying passengers and 12 crew.
Only a single British passenger, named as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, survived.
He is understood to have jumped from the emergency door of the Gatwick-bound plane as the flight came came down.
Mr Ramesh told the Hindustan Times: “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran.
“There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
Mr Ramesh said the lights on the plane “started flickering” before the aircraft hit the ground.
“When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air.
“Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there.”
Mr Ramesh told the newspaper the section of the plane he was in landed on the ground, rather than hitting the roof of a building.
“When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out. I tried, and I did. Maybe the people who were on the other side of the plane weren’t able to,” he said.
He added: “I don’t know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me … I walked out of the rubble.”
Speaking outside the family home in Leicester, his brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, said: "We were just shocked as soon as we heard it.
"I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We're devastated, just devastated.
"He said 'I have no idea how I exited the plane'."
Some 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national were in board the flight.
A former Indian politician was also believed to be among the Indian victims, India's civil aviation minister confirmed.
Vijay Rupani, 68, served as Gujarat's chief minister between 2016 and 2021.
He was a member of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party.
Gujarat BJP president CR Patil said: "Our leader and former Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani, was going (to London) to meet his family. He is also a victim in this incident. May his soul rest in peace. This is a big loss for the BJP.”
Police have told Reuters that at least 290 people are known to have died after the flight came down in a residential area and crashed into accommodation for medical workers.
Divyansh Singh, vice-president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, told the Associated Press that at least five medical students had been killed and about 50 were injured when the plane hit the college.
Tata Group, the parent company of Air India, said it would provide 10 million rupees (around £86,000) to the families of each of those killed in the crash.
The company said it would also cover the medical costs of the injured and provide support in the "building up" of the BJ Medical College.
UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.
King Charles said he was "desperately shocked" and Buckingham Palace said His Majesty was being kept updated.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was in constant contact with Indian authorities.
He said: "I think it is important for all friends and family to contact the Foreign Office so we can roll out this as quickly as possible, but it is an ongoing investigation. It'll take some time.
"But you know, our hearts and our thoughts are absolutely with the friends and families of all those affected who are going to be absolutely devastated by this awful news."
Foreign Secretary David Lammy chaired a Cobra meeting of senior ministers about the crash.
It is the first crash involving a Boeing 787, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
Air India was acquired by Tata Group from the Indian government in January 2022 after racking up billions of pounds of losses.
The airline's UK operations are based at Birmingham, Gatwick and Heathrow, with routes to a number of Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
It started operating flights to Gatwick in March 2023, with 12 weekly departures including five to Ahmedabad.
Gatwick said there was no impact on wider flight operations at the airport, but a Thursday evening flight to Goa had been cancelled.
The FCDO said any British nationals requiring consular assistance, or who have concerns about family or friends, should call 020 7008 5000.
