On Father’s Day, sons get DNA confirmation of parents’ deaths in Air India crash

The Air India aircraft accident in Ahmedabad on June 12 has caused overwhelming sorrow for families globally. Among the victims were Ashokbhai and Shobhanaben Patel, a couple from Gujarat who had settled in Britain since 1978. The tragedy took both their lives, yet in a touching twist, not even death could separate them.

DNA testing to identify the deceased was being carried out at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. During the identification process, the hospital’s control room contacted Ashokbhai’s son Miten Patel, who was in London.

He reached Ahmedabad alongside his brother Hemen and provided their DNA samples to facilitate the identification. On June 15, coinciding with Father’s Day, Miten received verification that one of the matched DNA samples belonged to his father Ashokbhai. The siblings started the procedures to return their father’s remains to London. Yet, the concern regarding their mother’s location lingered heavily in their thoughts.

Given the typically lengthy process of DNA matching, they had accepted that they would come back with just their father’s remains. However, destiny intervened. In the control room, the brothers observed that 98 samples had been matched up to that point, with the last one being their father’s. While they were getting ready to depart, a call from the hospital altered everything – the 99th matched sample was from their mother, Shobhanaben.

Hurrying back to the hospital, Miten and Hemen noticed their mother’s name on the notice board. Tears filled their eyes. In a remarkable turn of events, their parents were recognized as the 98th and 99th DNA matches – together even in science, just as they had been in life and in death.

This profound moment left the brothers deeply moved. Despite the overwhelming tragedy, they felt they had witnessed a quiet miracle – a reminder that the bond their parents shared was unbroken, even in their final journey.