RELATIVES of nine British passengers killed in an Air India crash have launched legal action against the airline, the Times reported.
The Boeing 787 aircraft was carrying 53 British nationals when it came down in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off in June last year. Out of 242 passengers and crew on board, only one person survived - Vishwash Kumar Ramesh from Leicester. Another 19 people on the ground were also killed.
Claims for personal injury and damages have been filed at the High Court in London. Among the victims were Javed Ali Syed, 37, a hotel manager, who died alongside his wife Mariam, 35, who worked as a brand ambassador at Harrods, and their children Zayn, six, and Amani, four.
The west London family had been in India for an Eid holiday and to visit Javed's mother. The legal claim is being brought by Mariam's estate and two relatives.
According to the report, Ramesh Hirji Hirani, 51, from Kingsbury in London, had been in India to launch a new diabetes treatment programme. He left behind his wife, Tina, and three children - Yuvan, Anya and Sekani. His estate's co-executors are bringing the claim.
Shobhana Patel, 71, a retired NHS microbiologist, and her husband Ashok, 74, a financial adviser, from Orpington in southeast London, were returning from a Hindu religious trip. Their sons, Miten and Hemit, are taking legal action. Miten said that when his mother's coffin was returned to Britain, it contained the remains of several people.
Ketan Kumar Shah Bharatbhai, 43, from Southbourne in Dorset, had been visiting his sick father in India. He ran a community shop in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire. His wife, Megha, and their two teenage children are bringing the claim.
Lawrence Daniel Christian, 26, had visited India to perform the last rites for his father, Daniel. He took a photograph with his mother, Raveena, outside Ahmedabad airport before boarding the flight. His wife, Ayushi, is bringing the legal action, the newspaper report said.
Air India announced in July last year that it had begun releasing interim compensation payments of about £21,500 to the families of 147 of the 229 dead passengers and 19 people killed on the ground.
