A Heart Shattered Twice: The Tragic Story of Laurence Christian, Another Victim Of Air India AI 171 Crash

In a 13-second video recorded outside the departure gates of Ahmedabad airport, a sister held her brother tightly. The date when the video was recorded was June 12, 2025. It wasn’t a reel. It wasn’t for social media. It was a memory being made—one that would, unknowingly, become their last. That sister, 17-year-old Rinal Christian, had gone to see off her brother, Laurence Christian, 30, who was flying back to London on Air India flight AI 171. She had filmed him as he walked with his trolley toward the terminal, turning back briefly with a soft smile. She had no way of knowing it would be the last time she saw that smile. Thirteen seconds. That was how long their final hug lasted. That was also how long, according to a cctv footage , the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, remained airborne after takeoff before it crashed into a residential area in Meghaninagar, Ahmedabad—killing everyone on board but one. Laurence was one of the 241 people onboard who had died.


Laurence, a British citizen of Indian descent, had arrived in Ahmedabad on June 1- not to celebrate, but to mourn. His father had passed away in late May. Laurence had flown home to lay his father to rest, to be there for his grieving mother Ravina and younger sister Rinal. “First I lost my husband and we were already in mourning and now this tragedy has struck us. As a dutiful son he has shouldered all the family responsibilities. But now he is gone. We cant believe this happened to our family”, said Ravine Christian, heartbroken and shattered. As the only breadwinner for his mother, sister, and wife, Laurence carried the weight of their dreams. He worked tirelessly in Britain, sending money home to ensure their comfort. His visit to India was meant to be brief—a solemn duty to honour his father before returning to his life abroad. Instead, it became the final chapter of a life cut short. “When he sat on the plane, he saw me over a video call and bid adieu,” Ravina recounted, her voice breaking as she spoke to reporters at her home in Ahmedabad. The memory of that call haunts her—a fleeting moment of connection before the unthinkable.

Rinal quietly sat next to the mother and scrolled though her phone as tears kept rolling. Every time Laurence left for London, she would make videos of her brother knowing she won’t see him for the next few months. “He would get me so many gifts every time he would come. He had promised to come for my board results, said we’d go out to celebrate. First my father and now my brother…both pampered me a lot and now suddenly, I don’t have anyone to fall back on”, she cried. She showed us one of the last family photos of three of them—Laurence, his mother, and his sister—at the cemetery, standing by the father’s grave, placing a wooden cross. That happened just 12 days before the crash. “We came back home after seeing him off and then little later we got a call from a relative who informed us about the crash. I immediately switched on the tv and without wasting any time, both may and myself rushed to BJ Medical. I wish he had missed the flight”, Rinal recalled.

He had promised to call them upon landing in London, a routine they cherished. Instead, they were left with silence, waiting for news that would shatter their hearts. The recovery of Laurence’s remains required DNA testing, a painful process that delayed closure for a family already drowning in sorrow. Final had given her samples for the DNA testing. They are to receive the body. The flight, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members, issued a desperate “Mayday” call seconds after takeoff. The crash of AI171 was one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters, killing 279 people, including 38 on the ground. For the Christian family, the statistics were personal. Laurence’s seat, 28B, became a marker of their loss—a detail etched into their grief. His journey to India had been one of duty, to put the cross on the father’s grave. Now, Ravina faced the unbearable task of preparing for her son’s funeral, only if they ever receive the mortal remains- her home a shrine of memories and unfulfilled promises. While the cause of the crash remains unclear, the cause of the suffering of so many families including Ravina’s is clear and unputdownable.