Latest news with #BhatBurhan

RNZ News
13-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Air India crash preliminary report brings little comfort for victims' families
By ABC South Asia bureau chief Meghna Bali and Bhat Burhan in Ahmedabad, India An investigation team inspects the wreckage of Air India flight 171 a day after it crashed in a residential area near the airport, in Ahmedabad on 13 June, 2025. Investigators recovered a black box recorder from the crash site. Photo: AFP/ Sam Panthaky An investigation team inspects the wreckage of Air India flight 171 a day after it crashed in a residential area near the airport, in Ahmedabad on 13 June, 2025. One month after Air India Flight 171 crashed into a hostel at Ahmedabad's BJ Medical College, killing 260 people, including children and entire families, key questions remain unanswered. The disaster left behind scorched buildings and devastated lives. A month on from the fatal Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, the site of the collision remains blackened. Photo: ABC News: Bhat Burhan On Saturday, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its preliminary report , confirming that both fuel control switches were moved to "cut off" just seconds after take-off, shutting down the engines and causing the Boeing 787 to lose thrust. But the report does not explain how or why the switches were moved, offering little clarity or comfort to the families left behind. In a narrow alley in Ahmedabad, 32-year-old Ravi Thakor sits on a wooden cot inside his modest home, scrolling through old videos of his daughter playing. Today would have been her second birthday. Ravi Thakor, left, says he learned about the nature of the fatal crash that killed his daughter and mother via social media. Photo: ABC News: Bhat Burhan Instead of celebrating, Thakor is mourning his daughter Aadhya and his mother Sarla Ben, who were both killed when the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel mess where she worked. "I learnt from social media that both engines shut down and there was something wrong with the fuel," he told the ABC. The preliminary report said both fuel switches were cut off just seconds after take-off, then switched back on, but the engines never recovered enough power before the plane slammed into the ground. Ravi Thakor's father, Prahlad Thakor, who lost his wife and granddaughter. Photo: ABC News: Bhat Burhan Cockpit audio captured one pilot asking the other why the fuel had been cut off, and the other replying that he hadn't done it. Thakor said the findings were confusing and only deepened his questions. "There will be many like us who are not that educated and don't understand what has been written [in the report]," he said. "This was an international flight with many experts involved with it. Still no-one picked up on such a huge mistake. The final report must explain it. They have a responsibility - so many lives were lost." Framed photographs in the Thakor home, in tribute to Aadhya and Sarla Ben Thakor, who were killed in the crash. Photo: ABC News: Bhat Burhan Thakor said the trauma of that night still haunted him. "A whole iron cupboard melted in the area my mum used to cook in. Imagine what would happen to a person," he said. "We have seen the charred bodies with our eyes. We have felt it. I can still smell the stench; it's in my nose. How would it have been for them?" Not far from Thakor's home, another family is grappling with the same grief. BS Saiyad lost his brother Inayat, as well as Inayat's wife, son and daughter, in the crash. He, too, has read the preliminary findings, and finds them contradictory. BS Saiyad, who lost his brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece in the crash, says he also found the preliminary report confusing. Photo: ABC News: Bhat Burhan "It seems like the pilot is being blamed. But the way the report is set out, it also looks like the pilot is innocent," Saiyad said. "If this investigation is to be done transparently, there can't be any prejudice." Aviation experts say the design of the fuel cut-off switches makes an accidental error unlikely. B S Saiyad is calling for complete transparency in a final report into the crash, to determine exactly what caused the fatal incident. Photo: ABC News: Bhat Burhan Guard brackets prevent the switches from being knocked or moved into the off position by mistake, and a stop-lock mechanism requires pilots to lift the switch before changing its position. The report outlined the sequence of events: the fuel switches moved to cut-off almost simultaneously, power was lost, the switches were reset, but by then the aircraft was too low to recover. As for a possible mechanical fault, the AAIB says there is no evidence at this stage to recommend changes for Boeing or GE, the engine manufacturer. The 56-year-old commanding pilot, Sumeet Sabharwal, and his 32-year-old co-pilot, Clive Kunder, had a combined 9000 hours of flight time on the 787. Both were rested and breath-tested before take-off. Air India says it's cooperating fully with the investigation. The Indian civil aviation minister has urged the public to be patient. "Let's not jump to any conclusions at this stage," Ram Mohan Naidu said. "Let us wait for the final report." As investigators continue analysing flight data, wreckage, post-mortem reports and witness statements, the final report could take months. For families like the Thakors and the Saiyads, however, the preliminary findings offer little solace. "If this report means that future lives can be saved it's a good thing. But it's not going to make a difference to us," Saiyad said. "Sometimes I dream about calling Inayat and stopping him from leaving." On what should have been a day of celebration, Thakor spent his daughter's second birthday looking at her photos and videos, still asking why she had to die. "We thought this year we'd take her to the temple … let her grandparents bless her," he said quietly. "But now, she's gone." - ABC

ABC News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Cross-border families trapped in India-Pakistan fallout
The distance between India and Pakistan is just a few steps at the Attari-Wagah border crossing. But for families like Sana's, it now feels like a world apart. Emotions ran high this week as a deadline passed for Pakistani citizens on short-term visas to leave India. It followed India has responded with a range of tough measures including suspending diplomatic ties, halting a key water-sharing treaty, and giving Pakistani nationals on short-term visas 48 hours to leave. In response, Pakistan cancelled visas for Indian nationals, and both countries recalled diplomats. 'We shouldn't have come' Caught in the diplomatic fallout is 30-year-old Sana, an Indian citizen who moved to Pakistan after marrying there in 2020. She had returned to India a fortnight ago with her children to visit her parents. Days later, their trip was abruptly cut short. Sana is separated from her husband in Pakistan after going home to India to visit her parents. ( ABC News: Bhat Burhan ) Like hundreds of others, she scrambled to meet the government's orders. Her husband was waiting for her and their children across the border in Pakistan. But when she tried to leave, Indian officials stopped her — because she's not a Pakistani national. Photo shows Two soldiers walk down a path next to people taking photos on the banks of a river Days after a deadly attack left 26 people dead in India-controlled Kashmir, relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted. Sana has a one-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, who are Pakistani citizens and would have been allowed to return. "All I could think was that the kids shouldn't be separated from me. I have small kids, they can't live without me, and I can't live without them," she told the ABC. She said officials took pity on her and said she could stay with her kids in India, but she could not cross into Pakistan. "They said no one will say anything to you, you can stay here," she said. Now, Sana and her children are back at her parent's home in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, about 400 kilometres from the Attari-Wagah border crossing. She said she was worried about what could happen next. "After so many hurdles we were finally able to visit my parents, but we couldn't even stay here peacefully for 45 days," she said. "Now I feel we shouldn't have come." Colonial legacy still dividing families The border between India and Pakistan is more than a physical dividing line. It's a legacy of partition, when British colonial rule ended in 1947 and Pakistan was created as a homeland for Muslims, while India remained a secular republic. The partition triggered one of the largest and bloodiest mass migrations in history. About 15 million people were displaced and up to two million were killed in communal violence. In the decades since, the two nations have fought multiple wars, and tensions have remained high, particularly over the region of Kashmir. At the time of partition, Kashmir was a Muslim-majority princely state whose Hindu ruler opted to join India in exchange for military protection, after Pakistani-backed forces entered the region. Ever since, Kashmir has remained a flashpoint. Both countries claim it in full but control it in parts, while those who live there often have had little control over their own future. Despite the fraught history, people have tried to preserve ties through cross-border marriages. But it's not been without difficulties. Visas are rarely granted, and couples live with constant uncertainty. Shahbaz Malik's wife, a Pakistani national, is now separated from her family. ( ABC News: Bhat Burhan ) Shahbaz Malik's wife, a Pakistani national, had her Indian visa rejected three times since 2020. It was finally approved, but just days after she arrived, she was ordered to leave. "I agree the attack was wrong. But why are we being punished for it?" he told the ABC. After just six days in India, his wife left on Tuesday, bidding a teary farewell to her eight-year-old son. Shahbaz Malik's son is now separated from his mother. ( ABC News: Bhat Burhan ) "What's his fault, he's been separated from his mother? What is my fault? My wife got a visa after six years and she had to leave after six days," he told the ABC at the Attari-Wagah border. "I'm still hoping God performs a miracle and she comes out. That's why I'm waiting here, hoping some guidelines come out and they don't let her go." Wedding, family trip thwarted Around 800 Pakistani nationals crossed back into their country this week, along with 1,400 Indians heading the other way. For many, the return was heart wrenching. India suspended visa services to Pakistan nationals "with immediate effect" following an attack on tourists in south Kashmir. ( Reuters: Francis Mascarenhas ) One woman had waited 14 years for a visa to visit her brother, only to leave after eight weeks. A groom had planned to marry in Pakistan this week. Another family came so their children could meet their grandparents for the first time. Frustrated, Sana said governments on both sides needed to consider the human cost of their politics. "A law should be made that no-one from there should get married here and no-one from here should get married there. Because we are the ones who are impacted," she said. " We couldn't leave India with the same joy we came with. My family here is upset and so are my husband and in-laws in Pakistan. "