Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by / Adil Bhat
00:25 Saurabh Patel / Husband of crash victim
01:31 Adil Bhat / DW Correspondent | Ahmedabad, India
02:16 Ajay Parmar / Injured victim
03:59 Kuldip Asrani / Social activist

Script:

For Saurabh Patel and his daughter, the past year has been defined by grief.

A year ago, he lost his wife, Heena Patel, when Air India flight 171 crashed. She was flying back to her husband and job in London where they lived.  

These moments captured on video are the last memories her husband Saurabh has of Heena.

+++ Saurabh Patel, Crash victims’ husband (Hindi): +++
"It doesn’t feel like that one year has passed. Whenever I wake up in the morning or go to sleep at night I see her in front of me. All that I do is think why did this happen? It continuously plays in my head -  what is it, why did this happen? Who is responsible for it and how did it happen?"

A year on, his questions still have no answers.

Saurabh and Heena had built a life in the UK. But they came back to Ahmedabad often - to family, to roots. After the tragedy, Saurabh returned to India. 

+++ Saurabh Patel, Crash victims’ husband (Hindi): +++
"My wife was everything for me.  It is often said your wife is your better half. So, with her, half part of my existence is gone. My mind is 50% blank – what should I do or not do. I am unable to take decisions by myself."

Last year on June 12, the Air India flight went down seconds after take-off, plunging into a local medical college campus. More than 260 people were killed, among them students and staff on the ground. It was India’s worst aviation disaster in three decades.

+++ PTC, Adil Bhat, DW Correspondent: +++
"A year ago, when we stood at this crash site, this was a scene of devastation. Parts of the aircraft were scattered across this medical college campus. Smoke filled the air. Emergency crews and local residents were rushing towards the wreckage. Today, there are still visible signs of what happened here. But people who witnessed the crash still remember the confusion and panic as the aircraft came down moments after take-off. And for many of the families who lost loved ones, the search for answers continues."

Ajay Parmar was on his scooter, heading to work, when the plane came down metres away. The burns he suffered that morning have never fully healed.

He brings us to the exact spot where he was that morning. 

+++ Ajay Parmar, Injured victim (Hindi): +++
"I saw the crash with my own eyes. I haven't been able to sleep properly ever since. I take sleeping pills now so I can get some sleep. One year has passed but my sleep has gone forever because in me I saw bodies burning in front of me. I can't forget this tragedy."

A year on, Ajay cannot stand in direct sunlight. His skin remains fragile. He has lost his job.
 
He received a final compensation offer from Air India for roughly 23,000 Euros, with an additional promise to cover his medical treatment. 

But, he says, that promise was never fulfilled. 

Ajay regrets signing the settlement as it required him to give up all future claims and legal rights in addition to the compensation. He says he did not understand what he was signing away. 

+++ Ajay Parmar, Injured victim (Hindi): +++
"Who will pay for my surgery now. I also don’t have a job any more  and no one will employ me after my burns. I want to ask Mr. Modi why has Air India abandoned me."

Almost everyone who crosses this road stops to look at the crash site -  a reminder of a tragedy that remains indelible in the minds of the locals.

Social activist Kuldip Asrani has spent the past year helping more than two hundred families navigate bureaucracy, legal processes and unanswered questions.

Today, he is going door to door, inviting families to a gathering he is organising to mark the anniversary - a chance for the families to be together, and to be heard.

+++ Kuldip Asrani, Social activist (Hindi): +++
"On the day of the anniversary when all affected families will meet, they will get to share one another’s pain from the loss of their loved ones, and in sharing they will learn that they have a common suffering and shared pain. This will reduce their grief."

Back in Ahmedabad, Saurabh and his  family head to the temple to pray for Henna’s soul.

((ATMO: sound of temple bell))

Their prayers are not merely rituals - but also their way of seeking answers to the tragedy that shook their lives forever.