“They were my life, if I give up and stop looking, I may never recover.”

Imtiyaz Ali Sayed with his brother Javed, Javed's wife and his children before Thursday's flight — Photo foot, Imtiyaz Ali Sayed (last right) with his brother Javed, Javed's wife and his children before Thursday's flight.

Author, Zoya Mateen
Author's title, BBC News, Ahmedabad
June 13, 2025

Imtiyaz Ali Sayed refuses to cry.

He did not cry when he knew for the first time that his younger brother, Javed, along with his wife and two children, had died in the devastating Air India accident in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.

He did not cry now, more than 10 hours later, when the clock marks three in the morning and he travels the sterile halls of the hospital where his bodies lie, refusing to sit down, refusing to accept.

The authorities confirmed that only one of the 242 people aboard the flight to London survived. DNA tests are being performed to identify the victims.

Sayed, a Bombay resident businessman, is one of the dozens of families waiting for that information after one of the worst aerial disasters of India.

He even see his brother's body, or “whatever it is from him”, with his own eyes, he will continue looking for him, he says.

“You don't understand it. They were my life, if I give up and stop looking, I may never recover,” he says.

Then look at his phone, showing photos of his nephews, including some taken moments before they board the flight.

Sayed remembers how his older sister should travel to London with Javed, but he didn't get a ticket. Then it is silent. Outside, the night becomes deeper, the sky darkens little by little.

Minutes later he takes the phone again, this time to show a series of messages that he sent to Javed after learning about the accident.

“Look,” he says, enlarging the screen. “The messages were sent. That has to mean something, right?”

Remains of the Air India plane between rubble and trees after crashing in a residential area near Ahmedabad airport — Photo foot, Remains of the Air India plane after crashing in a residential area near Ahmedabad airport.

The tragedy broke out in seconds: the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner exploded in flames shortly after taking off the Sardar Vallebhbhai Patel International Ahmedabad airport, crashing against the building of a medical faculty in a densely populated residential neighborhood.

“There was a strong roar, a deafening screech and, suddenly, it began to rain fire, iron and steel from heaven,” Mikesh said, a driver who lives about 15 minutes from the accident place.

At least eight people died on the ground, according to the BBC a senior health official of Ahmedabad. When rescuers arrived, they found fragments of the airplane with such force that it was difficult to distinguish them from the human remains, as BBC informed two members of the rescue team to the BBC.

From the accident, a foul and acre smell has spread in the area, while the smoke was still rising from the site of the incident until late at night.

The authorities affirmed that they are working to identify the victims, but the magnitude of the destruction has greatly hindered the task.

A Volunteer of the Civil Hospital declared the BBC, under anonymity, that many bodies are so carbonized and destroyed that physical identification could be impossible.

“It's like trying to distinguish ash ashes.”

Two women cry the loss of their loved ones after the plane crash — Photo foot, At least eight people died on land when the plane crashed into the Hostal of the Faculty of Medicine. “Many students are receiving treatment for serious injuries,” said a witness.

For families it has been unbearable. Many have camped outside the hospital, cars or on the street, while their screams of anguish resonate through the halls.

Sameer Shaikh's wife can't stop crying. His son, Irfan, Air India crew, did not call, but always sent messages before takeoff and after landing.

So, when the airline called that afternoon, Shaikh was confused. Irfan was supposed to be on his way to London.

“But, on the other hand, we learned that he died in an accident.”

Shaikh, resident of Pune, flew to Ahmedabad with his family to collect his son's body. An Air India official at the Civil Hospital helped him with the identification process.

“But the police didn't let us take my son,” he says. “They asked us to return in three days, after the DNA analysis of all victims was completed.”

Devastated, the couple has been looking for help and answers.

“What are we going to do?” He asks, pointing to his wife, sitting in a corner sobbing. “How can we wait three days knowing what our son is?”

Two women cry while waiting for DNA's results to identify their loved ones — Photo foot, Relatives of the victims expect DNA's results to identify their loved ones in an Ahmedabad Emergency Center.

Shaikh marriage is not alone in its anguish. On the other side of the city another tragedy continues to develop, this time in the same place where the plane crashed.

The BJ School of Medicine of the Civil Hospital, one of the most respected institutions in Ahmedabad, became the zero zone when the plane crashed into one of its buildings, a hostel, Thursday. Victims have been reported, but the total number is not yet clear.

Payal Thakur walks anxious, looking for news from her mother, Sarla, who worked as a cook in the shelter. She was at the back of the building, the same place where the plane crashed.

When telling the events of the day, Thakur says that his mother had gone to work around 13:00 local time.

“The plan was to serve lunch to doctors and return home. But when my mother saw the students reach the dining room, she decided to stay and prepare Rotis (flat breads),” he says.

That was the moment when the plane crashed into the shelter and crossed the first floor of the building. In the chaotic minutes that followed, confusion and pain were intense.

“There was a lot of black smoke from the building. People ran, trying to save their lives. We have been looking for our mother from morning, but we have not found a trace of it,” he adds.

His father, Prahlad Thakur, says Sarla was not alone: ”My brother's daughter was with her,” he says. Both are missing.

Sarla's family registered the upper floor, where the kitchen was, but they found nothing.

“I went twice with the hope of finding something, anything. But there were only water and rubble,” says Prahlad Thakur.

People walking with masks go through a damaged building that has on the roof remains of the plane — Photo foot, The plane crashed into a hostel for doctors at the Faculty of Medicine near the airport.

Half melts finish on the tables where students had lunch — Photo foot, Half meals finish on the tables where students had lunch.

The clash not only destroyed a building, but abruptly interrupted a normal afternoon on the campus.

“There was a strong noise. All the doors and windows of the classroom began to tremble. Everyone ran outside to see what had happened,” said a student who preferred not to be identified.

The panic seized the campus as the news spread and became increasingly evident that many students had been injured or died. Some ran; Others, too stunned by what they had witnessed, were paralyzed; His sobs mixed with the screams.

“A student stood there with tears in his eyes, unable to move, while others were so seriously injured that they had to be transferred to the hospital. Many are receiving treatment for serious injuries; some are in the intensive care unit,” the other added.

At dusk, the severely damaged corridors remained silent. Mochilas and half -finished meals lay abandoned on the tables where the students had fled. The air was still loaded with smoke, sirens and the weight of what had just happened.

This note had additional Kalpesh Kumar Chavda reports in Ahmedabad.