She Was Flying To London To Pursue Her Dream Course, Died In Ahmedabad Crash

Payal Khatik's dream to study in London was just a 9-hour-long flight away. The girl from Rajasthan's Udaipur boarded the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick on Thursday afternoon, but its crash less than a minute later likely ended her life.

While official information is still awaited on the number of deaths, the situation remains grim after the plane plummeted from a height of 625 feet and burst into flames after crashing into a doctor's hostel in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar. Of the 242 people on board, only one survivor has been named so far.

Ms Khatik, who lived with her parents in Gujarat's Himmatnagar, was going to London to take admission for higher education in London. Locals remembered the girl as a school topper since childhood and her promising prospects for the future. Locals said she had dreamt of bringing glory to her family and India.

Ms Khatik was among the 242 people on board the fateful Air India AI171 aircraft, which crashed within 59 seconds of taking off at 1.38 pm.

Union minister Amit Shah said the temperature in the Air India plane that crashed was so high due to burning fuel that there was no chance to save anyone. "There was 1.25 lakh litre of fuel inside the plane and it caught heat so it was impossible to save anyone," Shah told reporters.

"The number of those killed will be officially released by the authorities after DNA test and identification of the victims," Shah said.