Rajasthani teenager Payal Sureshbhai Khatik was on her dream flight to London on Thursday. Khatik was just nine hours away from fulfilling her dreams of pursuing studies in London when her maiden flight, Air India AI171, crash-landed near Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday.
Sureshbhai Khatik hails from Rajasthan and he lives with his family in Gujarat's Himmatnagar. Khatik makes a living by pulling load rickshaw and when his teenage daughter Khatik expressed a desire to pursue studies in London, Suresh didn't think twice. He decided to take the burden to fulfil Payal's dreams.
#WATCH | Sabarkantha, Gujarat | Relative of a deceased passenger of AI-171 plane crash, says, "Our relative Payal Khatik was in that flight. She was the daughter of our relative Suresh Khatik. We all went to see her off for her flight. When we learned about the plane crash, we… pic.twitter.com/rtDSbuwvNW
— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2025
On Thursday, Suresh and family were returning home after seeing off their daughter Payal at Ahmedabad Airport when they received the dreaded call. Suresh and family immediately returned to the airport, only to see the plumes of smoke rising from the site where the Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crashed.
After completing her college, she used to stay with us. Then she wanted to study in London. We took out loans to support her education there...," an emotional Suresh told ANI while waiting at a hall in Sabarkantha, Gujarat, to collect his daughter's mortal remains. Suresh said authorities have collected his DNA samples to confirm Payal's body.
Another relative of Payal said, "We all went to see her off... When we learned about the plane crash, we travelled again to Ahmedabad." He added Suresh took loans from the community and a few other places to support Payal's education. "The financial condition of the family is not good. Suresh supports his livelihood by pulling a loading rickshaw. Payal used to take care of the family by giving tuition to the students. They took loans from the community and other places to support her education in London."
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Except for one passenger, all 241 onboard the Air India flight died in the fatal crash on Thursday. The aircraft rammed into BJ Medical College's hostel, killing five including four MBBS students and a doctor's wife. The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday and assessed the situation. He also met victims undergoing treatment at the hospital.
