‘She came to sign papers, then fly back one last time’: Kerala nurse dies in Air India crash | VIDEO
Pathanamthitta: What was meant to be a short and hopeful visit home turned into a heartbreaking farewell. Ranjitha Gopakumaran Nair, a 39-year-old nurse from Pathanamthitta district, was among the victims of the tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for Gatwick, crashed just minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad airport at 1:39 pm, killing dozens. The flight was carrying 242 people- 230 passengers and 12 crew members.
Ranjitha had returned to India just four days earlier to complete formalities related to her government nursing job, which she had secured through the Kerala PSC in 2019. She had taken leave years ago to work abroad and was now planning to return home for good to join service, build a new house, and finally bring stability to the lives of her two children and elderly mother.
“She was a good girl, always taking care of her mother and the home,” said a neighbour, holding back tears. “She came only to sign a few papers… she had so many dreams.”
A dedicated nurse with nearly a decade of experience abroad, Ranjitha had worked at the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah, Oman, before moving to the UK about a year ago to join the NHS. Her return was meant to mark a new chapter, a final goodbye to life overseas, and a new beginning back in Kerala.
Ranjitha had booked the earliest ticket she could find to return to London a connecting flight from Chennai to Ahmedabad with plans to formally resign from her NHS post and collect her release certificate
The aftermath:
The crash, which left the aircraft in flames just moments after take-off, destroyed not just lives but futures. Among the passengers, only one British national, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, is known to have survived and remains in hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ranjitha leaves behind her two children, 15-year-old Indhuchoodan, a 10th-grade student, and 12-year-old Etheka, in the seventh standard. After her father's death some years ago, Ranjitha became the backbone of her family, caring for her children and her cancer-recovering mother, Thulassykuttiyamma, with unwavering strength. She is also survived by two brothers.
A former staff nurse at Kozhencherry District Hospital, Ranjitha had always been deeply committed to service. Her journey from Kerala to Oman to London and back was driven by the hope of giving her children a better future.
The village of Pullad has been left in stunned silence. Neighbours and friends gather at her family home, offering condolences that feel far too small for the scale of the loss.
“Ranjitha was responsible, determined, and deeply rooted in her family,” said a local official. “Her story is especially painful because she was so close to starting a new chapter at home.”