ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia spoke to the families about their grievances
Words by ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia and Deputy Content Editor Sarika Gandhi
Nine months after the Air India plane crash that killed 53 British Nationals, seven grieving families have accused the British government of abandoning them in their search for answers and accountability.
They are also questioning whether they were given the correct remains of their loved ones.
They are meeting for the first time – bound by a tragedy which unfolded in less than a minute and has left them with questions that still haunt them.
ITV News met Zunairah Master, Miten Patel, Nick Meek, Nimmi Rajput, Chirag Patel, Jay Mervana and Anisha Patel — who between them lost mothers, fathers and brothers when Air India Flight 171 crashed seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad on 12th June 2025.
Some have never spoken publicly about their experiences before.
Alongside grief, there was deep frustration and anger over what families say was a lack of support from the British government.
Nick Meek lost his brother Jamie, who had been returning to the UK with his husband.
Nick describes the days after the crash as filled with “complete uncertainty”.
“There was a complete lack of communication and empathy,” he said. “You felt completely lost and you don’t know where to turn.”
When asked whether he felt failed by the British government, “100%.” he replied.
Many of the families we spoke to rushed immediately to India from the UK after the crash.
They described chaotic scenes and said they received little information or guidance.
Many said they needed help navigating the bureaucracy of identifying loved ones at the hospital in India, instead they say they felt abandoned by the UK government.
Chirag Patel says his family received almost no help after registering with the Foreign Office.
“There was no phone call,” he said.“They said, ‘we’re overwhelmed’. They were just like deer in headlights.”
Zunairah Master, who lost her 31 year old brother, Mohammed Adnan Master said: “The way were dealt with was just atrocious. We had no support from the (UK) government…my dad called the British Embassy and they were of no help.”
Families say they have since written to two successive Foreign Secretaries requesting meetings, but they have been ignored.
Chirag questions whether the response would have been different if the crash had happened closer to home.
“If this was a British tourist flight to one of the popular destinations, to the Canaries (or) let’s say to Greece, “would there be more attention?,” he asked. “Would they care?”
Nick added: “It feels like they don’t care, because it never happened on their shores. But what they’ve got to remember is over 50 British taxpayers died on that aeroplane and it’s up to them to help us and to assist us.”
In a statement to ITV News, a government spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with all the families and loved ones of the victims in this tragic accident.
“The Foreign Office continues to provide support, including dedicated consular caseworkers to each family who requests our support and remain in contact with the Indian authorities.”
One of the most distressing themes to emerge was uncertainty over whether some of the families have been given the correct remains of their loved ones.
Many travelled to India to provide DNA samples so victims could be identified and funerals could take place.
Some say they are still unsure whether the person they laid to rest was truly the person they lost.
Chirag Patel, who lost his mother Manju Patel, said he cannot say with certainty that the remains he cremated were hers.
“Do you believe that you cremated your mum?,” we asked him.
“Sadly, I cannot be 100% sure,” he replied.
“There could be a chance it wasn’t because I didn’t repatriate (her body to the UK).”
For Miten Patel, who lost both his parents, Ashok and Shobhna, the uncertainty became even more distressing after the remains returned to the UK were examined.
When a UK coroner inspected one of the caskets after it was repatriated, Miten was told that his mother’s remains had been mixed with someone else’s.
In India, he says he had never been allowed to check.
“Every single one of us when we were on the ground, you didn’t know who you were taking back,” he recalled.
“We weren’t allowed to see anything. We weren’t allowed to physically identify anything ourselves…And until (we) came back to the UK and the coroner opened the investigation, that’s when we knew that ok, we will find out that this is mum and dad.”
The discovery has left him questioning what happened in the identification process.
Jay Mervana, who lost his father, described a similar experience.
“We don’t know if the full body was there, if there was anything missing,” he said.
“We’ve just had to accept what they’ve given us.”
He says police remained present during funeral rituals in India, ensuring the coffins were not opened.
“That was confirmation we weren’t going to open them.”
For some families, those doubts have only grown with time.
Anisha Patel whose father, Nilkanth died in the crash, said: “We just had his name on the box and that’s it. And you just take that as face value because you can’t open it and double check anything.”
Zunairah said she just wanted her brother’s body back so her family could bury him quickly, in accordance with Islam, but it took “so long”.
“You could smell it. You could smell the stench of death,” she said.
The families say their experience was made even worse because of a lack of support from the British government.
They believe the Foreign Office should now help them find answers about their loved ones remains and about the cause crash.
When we asked them if they felt the government was advocating on their behalf, several answered immediately: “No, not at all.”
For Anisha Patel the uncertainty has made it impossible to move forward.
Her father Nilkanth had survived cancer before his sudden death in the crash came as a devastating shock.
Like many of the families, she says the same questions keep returning.
“How did it happen? Why did it happen?”
Until they know, many say they are unable to grieve properly.
Because for these families, the crash was over in seconds.
But the search for answers is far from over.
In a statement, Air India said: “Families have been going through unimaginable grief since this tragedy and our responsibility to support and care for them remains our absolute priority.
“We have remained in close and regular contact with the families over the last nine months, offering our full support during this difficult time, either directly or through their legal representatives where they have chosen this route, to ensure they are kept informed of any and all developments.
“We wholeheartedly understand that monetary compensation could never make up for the loss of a loved one and are committed to doing everything to support every single impacted family as they navigate this difficult time.”
We also approached India’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau and the Ministry of External Affairs in India for a response and have so far not received a response.
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