Ahmedabad: Eleven days after the tragic crash of London-bound Air India flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad, the weight of loss still hangs heavy over the families of victims. Grief is unfolding in deeply personal and often unexpected ways, leaving trauma counsellors deeply concerned.
Among the most poignant stories is that of a 27-year-old man who lost his wife in the crash. Married in 2024, the couple had been preparing to start a new chapter in London. The husband had flown ahead to set up their home, while she was scheduled to join him soon.
“She had asked him not to be late and keep her waiting at Gatwick airport,” shared a counsellor at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital. When he heard of the crash, he boarded the first available flight back to India. For three days, he visited the hospital to complete the formalities and claim her remains. “He did not cry—not once. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to—he simply couldn’t,” the counsellor said, noting the emotional numbness often seen in acute trauma.
To support grieving families, Civil Hospital has appointed ten trained counsellors, primarily psychiatrists, to help relatives begin the process of coping with their loss.
Urvika Parekh, one of the counsellors, recalled a particularly difficult moment—breaking the news to a seven-year-old girl whose family brought her in for DNA sampling. “They couldn’t bring themselves to tell her what had happened. Some families have lost more than one loved one. The silence in those homes is unbearable,” she said.
In one case, an elderly man who lost four members of his family has been unable to return to his home. “He’s staying with relatives for now. The house feels too empty, too painful. It’s a situation we’re seeing repeatedly—families performing last rites but unable to move forward or even return home,” Parekh added.
She described the psychological journey through the seven stages of grief: shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger and bargaining, depression, the upward turn, reconstruction, and finally, acceptance. But for many, she said, “even reaching the first stage has been incredibly difficult.”
Disha Vasavada, another psychiatrist assisting the families, noted that losing a child often proves even harder to process than losing a parent. “In such cases, it can take weeks just to begin to confront the reality,” she said. “Initially, some relatives appeared composed, but the moment the coffins were handed over, many broke down. The first few days are consumed by logistics—arrangements, rituals. But the real emotional toll surfaces when everything quiets down. That’s when we must continue to stay with them.”
Both counsellors likened the emotional disorientation to what families experienced during early COVID-19 fatalities—when they were denied the chance to say a final goodbye. That same lack of closure now lingers for many affected by the Air India tragedy.
As the shock fades and the reality of absence settles in, families across Gujarat and beyond are left grappling with questions no one is ready to answer. For them, healing will be a long and uncertain path.
