“A City in Mourning”: Funeral Rites Begin as Grieving Families Receive Victims of Air India Crash

AHMEDABAD — Grieving families in India began holding funeral ceremonies on Sunday for loved ones lost in one of the world’s deadliest aviation disasters in decades, as the death toll from Thursday’s Air India crash reached at least 279.

Health officials have started releasing the first identified victims to relatives in Ahmedabad, where rows of white coffins, delivered with solemn care, marked the beginning of a heartbreaking chapter.

“My heart is very heavy,” said Tushar Leuva, an NGO worker assisting with the recovery. “How do we give the bodies to the families? How will they react when they open the gate? But we’ll have to do it.”

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London’s Gatwick Airport with 242 people on board, crashed shortly after takeoff, erupting into flames and slamming into a residential area used by medical staff. At least 38 people on the ground were also killed. Only one person — British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh — survived the crash. His brother, tragically, was also on the flight.

Witnesses described the wreckage as apocalyptic, with charred remains and scattered debris. Families have been urged not to open the coffins due to the condition of the bodies.

Authorities are relying on DNA testing to identify the victims. As of Sunday morning, only 31 individuals had been confirmed. “This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only,” said Dr. Rajnish Patel of Ahmedabad’s civil hospital.

Among the victims was Arjun Patoliya, a father of two who had flown to India to scatter his late wife’s ashes. “I really hope those girls will be looked after by all of us,” said Anjana Patel, the mayor of London’s Harrow borough, home to several victims.

As communities mourned, one woman shared her miraculous escape. “We missed the flight because we arrived late,” said Bhoomi Chauhan, 28. “At that moment, I kept thinking that if only we had left a little earlier…”

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. India’s aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, said decoding the recovered black box would provide “an in-depth insight” into the tragedy. Inspections of other Air India Dreamliners have been ordered.

Air India confirmed there were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, one Canadian, and 12 crew members on board.

As the city buries its dead, the grief remains raw, and the questions unanswered.

Sorrow Tears And Blood As Leadership Failed Kano Youths!

By Oluwatosin Faleye

The heart of man is truly full of wickedness and nowhere is this clearer than in the recent avoidable tragedy that claimed the lives of 21 young athletes from Kano State.

These were vibrant, determined youths who proudly represented their state at the 2024 National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

On their journey home, after enduring countless challenges to prepare and compete with pride, they died in a horrific accident when their bus plunged off Chiromawa Bridge on the Kano-Zaria Expressway.

*Lives Wasted by Negligence, Not Fate

How could this have happened? How can athletes representing an entire state be subjected to a dangerous 16-hour road trip across 1,028 km, rather than being airlifted like dignitaries, VIPs, or religious pilgrims?

*Where is the value for life.Where is the priority for the future?

A government that fails to protect, yet finds billions for pilgrimages.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf approved a ₦1.45 billion subsidy for 2,900 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia—₦500,000 each for a religious exercise.
Yet, the same government could not allocate funds to ensure the safe return of the youth representing the state in a national sporting competition.

To add insult to irreversible injury, the government announced a ₦1 million compensation for each bereaved family. But the question is, can ₦1 million replace a life cut short?

Can ₦1 million restore the lost future of a potential Olympic champion?

Would this tragedy have occurred if leadership had put safety over ceremony?

*Critical Questions That Must Be Answered
Would the Chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission, Umar Bala Fagge, make that same dangerous road trip in that same bus?

Was the bus roadworthy?

Was it newly acquired or an overused death trap?

How many trained drivers were assigned to such a long, high-risk journey?

*Was there any emergency response plan in place?*

These are not rhetorical questions—they are demands. Because young lives have been lost, not to an act of God, but to poor planning, negligence, and a lack of foresight.

…No Public Holiday Can Wipe Away This Shame
Declaring a public holiday is not leadership. Leadership is prevention. Leadership is prioritizing life. Leadership is accountability. Had the state government taken these athletes seriously—as it does pilgrims or politicians—this may never have happened.

Enough of the Lip Service—We Demand Accountability
The youth are not expendable. The glory they sought to bring to Kano has now turned into grief. The government must do more than issue condolences—it must answer, act, and prevent.

This is not just a tragedy for Kano. This is a tragedy for Nigeria.

PR Consultant Guru, Kayode Akinyeni Loses Mother

A Lagos based public relations consultant and the former Head of Corporate Communications of the defunct Skye Bank (now polaris bank) and former Director General of Ekiti State Bureau of Strategic Communications, Kayode Akinyemi, has announced the death of her mother, Mrs. Victoria Oja Bodunde Akinyemi.

She passed peacefully in the early hour of Friday, June 14, 2026.

Mrs. Akinyemi, 85 was a devoted Christian and a prominent member of Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Iyanu, Afao – Ekti, where she served as representative of Good Women Society and also a member of the Church choirs for many years.

As a community leader and philanthropist, she was the Iya Egbe (Chairlady) of Egbe Igbotoluwa of Afao – Ekiti.

She is survived by children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

May her soul rest in peace