Indian officials have released the first body of a British Air India crash victim to her family.
A funeral was held for Elcina Alpesh Makwana, from London, on Sunday — just three days after the aviation disaster which killed at least 270 people.
Mrs Makwana, 42, is the first of the 52 British nationals killed in the tragedy on Thursday whose remains have been returned by authorities.
The telecoms business owner, who moved to the capital 15 years ago, was described as a “sweet” and “gentle” mother-of-two.
Her parents reportedly told her not to worry as she boarded the fatal flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick.
Mrs Mariana’s body was formally identified through DNA testing and taken to a cemetery in Gujarat on Sunday morning.
Her husband and two children, aged seven and 11, attended a Catholic requiem mass in her memory.
That same day, investigators recovered the second black box from the UK-bound flight which hit accommodation for medical students.
Uncle Joseph Patelia revealed that Mrs Mariana, who was in India for dental treatment, had called her father Edwin Patelia to say she had boarded the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
That call never came
He told the Daily Telegraph: “Before take-off, she called her father to say she’d boarded safely and would call again once she landed in London.
“That call never came. She vanished just like that, leaving us in shock, in tears, unable to believe what we were hearing.
“About 15 minutes after that call, her younger sister Anne saw the news of a plane crash. She ran to her father and said, ‘Please check if Elcina was on that flight.’ That’s when our nightmare began.”
“She’d been having frequent toothaches. She travelled alone, and her husband Alpesh and their two young children, an 11-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son, arrived here just yesterday.”
Paying tribute to his niece, Mr Patelia said she was a “gentle soul” and supported children in her homeland by paying for education.
“Elcina was incredibly sweet, kind and generous, a truly gentle soul,” he said. “She had adopted two children back home and was paying for their education. She gave quietly, never seeking attention.”
A UK Government spokesman said: “Foreign Office staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash.
“The FCDO has set up a reception centre in Ahmedabad to provide support and advice for the families and friends of British nationals following the plane crash on June 12.”
Only one of the 241 people onboard the flight, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, from Leicestershire, survived the crash.
