Tributes paid to ‘wonderful’ student from Leeds who died in Air India crash

Tributes have been paid to a “wonderful” student from Leeds who died in the Boeing 787 Air India crash.

Dirdh Patel, an Indian international, had been living in Leeds after studying for his Master’s at the University of Huddersfield.

Shortly after take-off on Thursday (12th June), the London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area, killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew members.

Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the wreckage in Ahmedabad.

According to family friends, Dirdh had returned to India to ask his girlfriend’s family for permission to marry her, ITV reports.

Having graduated with a Master’s in artificial intelligence, Dirdh was living with his brother, Krutik, and sister-in-law, Kena Vyas.

Raj Kaur, a family friend, said that Dirdh will always be remembered as a “wonderful person”. “He was the nicest, smiliest, and had a positive outlook on life. He’d only just started his adult life. He was so incredibly bright, softly spoken, just a wonderful person. It’s a huge shock, really awful.”

Dirdh graduating from the University of Huddersfield via LinkedIn

Raj recalled how excited Dirdh felt to be returning to the UK, having “set up a life for himself”. “Knowing his brother, this is going to change them all forever,” he added.

Since receiving the news, Dirdh’s brother and his wife have flown out to India to join the rest of the family, but Raj explained that they are struggling to cope with his death.

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Dirdh’s mother, who dropped him off at the airport before the crash, “isn’t doing very well”: “She has become quite ill. She dropped him off at the airport and has literally driven away from him and heard the explosion. It doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Dirdh was a member of the Leeds Modernians Cricket Club, and the team expressed its sadness at his death.

A Facebook post said: “Incredibly saddened to learn that our own Dirdh Patel was among the victims of the plane crash in Ahmedabad yesterday.

“The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Dirdh’s family and everyone who knew him.”

Less than one minute after leaving Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the plane Dirdh was travelling on lost altitude, crashing into a building used to house doctors’ at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.

Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed via YouTube

Vigils honouring those who died have taken place across India and the UK.

On Friday (13^th June), a black box was recovered from a rooftop close to the crash site. India’s civil aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, has said its discovery will “significantly aid the inquiry” into the disaster. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has also launched a full-scale investigation.

Aviation analysts have proposed several potential causes, including a dual engine failure, possibly triggered by a bird strike, or improper configuration of the wing flaps during take-off.

Featured image via LinkedIn