Air India Crash | ‘Checked Every Morgue’: Cook of BJ Hostel Mess Yet To Be Found

'The names of my mother and daughter are not in any list of victims in nearby hospitals,' Ravikant told The Quint.

Ravikumar Thakur (left) and his mother Sarlaben and daughter Aadhya (right). 

(Photo: Altered by The Quint) 

"We checked in all the nearby hospitals and morgues, but haven't found them anywhere," says Ravikumar Thakur, whose mother and daughter were in the BJ Medical College and Hospital when the Air India Flight 171 crashed into the building on Thursday, 12 June.

Ravikumar's mother, Sarlaben Thakur, 52, used to work as a cook in the hospital's mess, and his two-year-old daughter Aadhya used to accompany her to work everyday.

Sarlaben Thakur and her granddaughter, Aadhya. 

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint) 

On the other hand, Ravikumar, his father, and brother-in-law provide tiffin service to the civil hospital.

"After finishing our tiffin service at around 1:00 pm, we went to the PG Hospital, which is where we heard a loud noise and found out that there had been a fire," Ravikumar said while speaking to The Quint.

Upon inquiring about what had happened, a security guard informed that that a plane had crashed.

"When we reached the site, we got to know that the aircraft crashed into the same building where my mother used to cook," he says.

'Their Names Not in Any List of Victims'

Ravikant and other members of his family have been trying to find his mother and daughter for the last three days, but to no avail.

"We checked all the wards of the hospital. We even checked the Trauma Centre and reception counter, but haven't found them anywhere. Their names are not in any list of victims in nearby hospitals. The bodies of the other women who used to work in the hospital mess have been found."

Ravikant Thakur

Sarlaben Thakur.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Lalitaben Thakur, Ravikant's wife, says that their daughter always used to accompany her grandmother to work.

"Ever since she turned a year old, my daughter has always accompanied my mother-in-law to the college mess," she told The Quint.

Aadhya Thakur.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Ravikant and Lalitaben's five-year-old son was also in the mess building, but had left after eating lunch when the tragedy occurred.

"When the plane crashed into the building, my son went and hid in a nearby laundry store out of fear," Ravikant says.

Meanwhile, resident doctors at the BJ Medical College and Hospital have been trying to help Ravikant and his family by circulating the images of Sarlaben and Aadhya in their circles.

"We have lodged a missing person's complaint at the local police station. We gave them all necessary information, like the colour of clothes they were wearing that day," he says.

Sarlaben Thakur cooking at the BJ Medical College and Hospital mess. 

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint) 

Meanwhile, Ravikant has been trying to go to the site of the crash again, but has been stopped by officials as NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) personnel have been working round the clock there. They have also submitted their DNA samples to authorities for the identification of mortal remains.

The bodies of 31 victims of the Air India crash have been identified so far as per DNA sampling. Apart from the 241 passengers of the Air India aircraft who perished tragically in the accident, at least four students of the BJ Medical College and Hospital have also died.