Family desperate for news after India plane crash

The family of a British man feared to have been on board the Air India flight that crashed in India say they are desperate for answers about what happened to him.

Faizan Rafik was returning home to Leicester when the plane he was due to be travelling on crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

The 25-year-old's family say they have not yet received official confirmation about whether he was on board or if so what has happened to his body.

His cousin Sameer Rafik said his family had been left "completely stuck and don't know what to do".

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said an advice helpline and a support centre had been set up near the airport.

On Tuesday, Sameer said his family had provided DNA more than four days ago, but had still heard nothing.

"There's no update on him, we don't know if he's dead or alive," he said.

"We are still hoping to hear some good news from India but unfortunately we aren't getting any update from anywhere.

"Faizan's dad was asked to give DNA - it's been more than four days now. We were supposed to have heard from the hospital by Monday but we haven't heard anything.

"We need to get some update about my brother. Was he there in the flight crash? If he wasn't on the flight where is he? If he is on the flight then what's the condition of the body?"

The plane was carrying 242 people when it crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, in western India, including 53 Britons.

There was a single passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh who survived the crash.

Faizan was retuning the UK after visiting his wife in Bharuch, Gujarat for their first Eid celebration together.

Sameer has backed calls for the UK government to provide more support to the families of the victims involved in the crash.

He added: "We haven't had anything from the UK or India – it feels like he was the one paying tax to this country and the government doesn't bother about the person who has died.

"It feels very awful. He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin.

"We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment."

Over the weekend, doctors in India said 270 bodies had been recovered from the site of the crash.

A statement from the FCDO said: "Our staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash."

Air India said in a statement on Sunday: "We have established contact with the next of kin/relatives of all passengers and crew members expressing our condolences, helping them with the next steps.

"Air India is working closely with other Tata group companies to provide every possible assistance to the families and loved ones of those deceased, which remains our number one priority."

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