- Filmmaker Mahesh Kalawadia phoned his wife at 1:14 pm to say he was heading home. His phone later went off around the same time the Air India flight crashed
- Police traced his last phone signal to 700 metres from the crash site. His scooter and phone remain missing
- His wife, Hetal, has submitted a DNA sample to help identify remains, fearing Mahesh may be among the unrecognised victims
A heartbreaking mystery is unfolding in India as the family of a filmmaker fears he may be one of the unidentified victims of the tragic Air India plane crash that killed over 270 people on Thursday, June 13.
The missing man, Mahesh Kalawadia, also known in the entertainment space as Mahesh Jirawala, was last heard from just minutes before the crash, reports India news outlet NDTV.
His wife, Hetal, has submitted her DNA sample to authorities after his phone was traced near the crash zone and then went offline.
Filmmaker Mahesh Kalawadia is feared dead in the Air India crash. Photos: @htcity/IG.Source: Instagram
Wife recounts last moments
Hetal recounted her final conversation with Mahesh with trembling emotion.
She stated:
“My husband called me at 1:14pm and said he had finished a meeting at Law Garden and was on his way home.”
But he never made it. The family grew alarmed when his phone wouldn’t connect, and police were later able to trace his last location, just 700 metres from the crash site.
Even more alarming, his phone switched off at 1:40 pm, just a minute after the doomed Air India flight took off.
Hetal cried:
“His phone and scooter are missing too. Mahesh never takes that route to come home. Something is terribly wrong.”
The horrific search for answers
The Air India Flight AI-171 had just departed from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad when it crashed into a medical college campus in Meghaninagar.
The crash killed 241 of the 242 on board and 29 civilians on the ground, with many bodies burned beyond recognition.
Authorities are now relying on DNA testing to match the remains. As of Sunday, 47 victims have been positively identified, and 24 bodies have been returned to their families.
Mahesh’s case has added to the mounting anxiety of families still awaiting closure.
The wife stated:
“We just want to know. Even if it’s the worst news, we need to know what happened to him.”
See the post here:
The filmmaker is believed to have been killed near the Air India crash. Photos: UGC.Source: Twitter
Man shares what Air India told him after he cancelled his flight
TheTalk.NG earlier reported that a Nigerian traveller expressed outrage over a cancellation fee charged by Air India after he decided to cancel his flight. Prithpal Matharu, who took to social media to share his frustration, claimed the airline’s actions prioritised profit over passenger safety.
In a post shared via his X handle, @PrithpalMatharu, Matharu stated that his decision to cancel was caused by Air India’s repeated flight cancellations and safety concerns.
Matharu was dismayed to learn that he would be charged with a $1,400 cancellation fee for choosing not to board the flight.
Source: TheTalk.NG
