Air India plane crash shatters newly-married woman's dreams of promising future

Ahmedabad: Ankita Patel was looking forward to beginning her new life in the UK with her husband, whom she had only spent 12 days with after their wedding in December last year.

Thursday's deadly crash shattered all the dreams and hopes for a happy future Ankita carried with her on board the ill-fated London-bound Air India aircraft that killed 265 people and left behind a trail of destruction and grief-stricken families.

Ankita had been busy completing the visa process for the last six months and was all set to join her husband, Vasant (30), who runs a provision store in the UK.

The Patel family, who hail from Mehsana, was excited for the couple.

Ankita's parents, her brothers and Vasant's sisters had come to the airport to see her off.

"We left for Mehsana after she boarded the aircraft," Ankita's sister-in-law Ashaben Patel said as she waited to claim her remains at the BJ Medical College.

"We had not even covered half the distance when we came to know about the aircraft, and we rushed back," her other sister-in-law, Gayatri Patel, said.

The couple got married on December 14. Vasant left for the UK, with Ankita promising to join him soon.

Vasant has now returned to India to collect her mortal remains instead of having a happy reunion with her at Gatwick Airport.

The family is waiting for a match for Ankita's DNA with her brother's.

"He is very distressed," said Gayatri, who was visibly distraught.