Sisters orphaned after air india crash kills dad weeks after mom’s cancer death
Young girls, aged 4 and 8, face heartbreaking loss as family raises funds for their future
Two young sisters in the UK have been left without parents after their father died in the Air India plane crash just weeks after their mother lost her fight with cancer.
Arjun Patoliya, 37, was one of the 270 passengers killed when Air India Flight 305 went down moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad on July 12. The crash is being called India’s deadliest aviation disaster in over 30 years, and the cause is still under investigation.
Arjun had flown to India to fulfill his wife Bharti’s last wish: to scatter her ashes in her hometown in Gujarat. Bharti passed away just 18 days earlier after battling cancer. The couple’s daughters, only 4 and 8 years old, are now orphans.
“He went to say goodbye to her, and never came back,” reads a statement on the GoFundMe page created for the girls.
Family devastated by double loss in less than three weeks
The Patoliya family is reeling from the back-to-back tragedies. Arjun’s mother, Kanchan Patoliya, told The Indian Express that the family is trying to stay strong and will soon decide who will raise the girls.
“Gopal [Arjun’s younger brother] arrived in Ahmedabad on Friday evening,” she said. “Once we complete all the rituals, we’ll decide. If needed, I’ll move to London and look after my granddaughters.”
A fundraising campaign launched to support the children has already raised over £576,000. Organizers say the money will go into a legal trust to cover the girls’ needs and future education.
“These two beautiful young girls have had their world turned upside down,” the fundraiser says. “We want to ensure they are cared for, loved, and supported.”
A future still uncertain, but not alone
While nothing can replace the loss of their parents, the outpouring of support shows these girls aren’t alone. Friends, family, and strangers from around the world are coming together to help them through the hardest time of their lives.
Their parents may be gone, but a community is standing by to help carry their love forward.
