Northampton Air India victim ‘brought kindness to every moment’

Colleagues of a beautician who was killed in the Air India plane crash have said she brought “kindness to every moment”.

Abdhi Patel, 40, was flying back to the UK after visiting her elderly mother when flight A1171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday.

She was a manager at Zone Beauty Studio in Wellingborough Road, Northampton.

An online crowdfunding page has been set up to support Ms Patel’s family.

Abdhiben Patel, known as Adbhi, told a friend she was reluctant to fly to India two weeks ago to care for her elderly mother because she was worried about leaving her 11-year-old son behind.

Colleagues at Zone Beauty Studio have paid tribute on social media to a “truly kind soul.”

They said: “She brought light to every room, strength to every challenge, and kindness to every moment. Her loss leaves a space that can never be filled, but her memory will forever live in our hearts.

“Her warmth, compassion, and gentle spirit were felt not only at Zone Beauty Studio but far beyond its walls.”

Northampton Business Improvement District posted a tribute on social media, which said: “Abdhi was a much-loved and greatly respected member of our town centre business community.

“The Zone Beauty Studio was thriving under Abdhi’s passionate leadership. Her knowledge and skill of the beauty industry was first-rate, and she was well known for her energy, her drive to succeed and her tireless work ethic.”

An online fundraiser has been set up to help her family – the organisers said they hoped to cover funeral expenses, support the education of Ms Patel’s son and help her husband “as he adjusts to life as a single parent”.

Tributes have also been paid to a woman from Wellingborough who died in the crash.

Raxa Modha was believed to have been flying to the UK with her son Rudra and her daughter-in-law Yasha Kamdar for a memorial service for her husband.

Ms Modha ran a restaurant in Wellingborough which also caters for events.

Neelam Aggarwal-Singh, from the Indian Hindu Welfare Association in Wellingborough, said: “I think everybody in the county and beyond knew Raxa and her husband Kishor.

“They ran a very successful business, and I think there aren’t many businesses of that nature in this county.

“She had a smile on her face every time I visited the shop to buy some sweets.”

Ms Aggarwal-Singh added that Ms Patel’s death had “shaken the Northampton community hugely – she was obviously very much loved”.