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Air India victim 'brought kindness to every moment'

Martin Heath
BBC News, Northamptonshire
Atif Karim/PA Media Abdhi Patel with long dark hair and glasses smiling at the camera. A child wearing a white T-shirt (whose face has been blurred) is alongside her on the left of the picture. They are both on a red couch.Atif Karim/PA Media
Abdhi Patel was a manager at a beauty studio in Northampton

Colleagues of a beautician who was killed in the Air India plane crash have said she brought "kindness to every moment".

Abdhi Patel, 40, was flying back to the UK after visiting her elderly mother when flight A1171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday.

She was a manager at Zone Beauty Studio in Wellingborough Road, Northampton.

An online crowdfunding page has been set up to support Ms Patel's family.

Abdhiben Patel, known as Adbhi, told a friend she was reluctant to fly to India two weeks ago to care for her elderly mother because she was worried about leaving her 11-year-old son behind.

Colleagues at Zone Beauty Studio have paid tribute on social media to a "truly kind soul."

They said: "She brought light to every room, strength to every challenge, and kindness to every moment. Her loss leaves a space that can never be filled, but her memory will forever live in our hearts.

"Her warmth, compassion, and gentle spirit were felt not only at Zone Beauty Studio but far beyond its walls."

Atif Karim/PA Media A picture of Abdhi Patel holding a certificate is attached to a wooden door that has a padlock on it. There are several bouquets of flowers in front of the door and a picture of a woman on the wall to the left.Atif Karim/PA Media
A shrine has been set up at the beauty salon and people have brought floral tributes

Northampton Business Improvement District posted a tribute on social media, which said: "Abdhi was a much-loved and greatly respected member of our town centre business community.

"The Zone Beauty Studio was thriving under Abdhi's passionate leadership. Her knowledge and skill of the beauty industry was first-rate, and she was well known for her energy, her drive to succeed and her tireless work ethic."

An online fundraiser has been set up to help her family - the organisers said they hoped to cover funeral expenses, support the education of Ms Patel's son and help her husband "as he adjusts to life as a single parent".

Unknown Kishor Modha with very short dark hair and grey beard with black-framed glasses wearing a black and white shirt. Raxa Modha standing next to him with long dark hair, wearing a pink dress with a blue upper section. They are both smiling at the camera against a cream-coloured background.Unknown
Raxa Modha and her late husband Kishor ran Pooja Caterers in Wellingborough

Tributes have also been paid to a woman from Wellingborough who died in the crash.

Raxa Modha was believed to have been flying to the UK with her son Rudra and her daughter-in-law Yasha Kamdar for a memorial service for her husband.

Ms Modha ran a restaurant in Wellingborough which also caters for events.

Jay Bopodra Raxa Modha with long dark hair with red paint on her face smiling and looking to the right of the camera. There are people behind her. The setting appears to be a festival celebration Jay Bopodra
Raxa Modha "had a smile on her face every time I visited"

Neelam Aggarwal-Singh, from the Indian Hindu Welfare Association in Wellingborough, said: "I think everybody in the county and beyond knew Raxa and her husband Kishor.

"They ran a very successful business, and I think there aren't many businesses of that nature in this county.

"She had a smile on her face every time I visited the shop to buy some sweets."

Ms Aggarwal-Singh added that Ms Patel's death had "shaken the Northampton community hugely - she was obviously very much loved".

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