‘Her Phone Is Still On…’: Kin Of Manipuri Air Hostess Cling To Hope After News Of Ahmedabad Crash

Last Updated:June 12, 2025, 21:58 IST

As news of the Air India plane crash reached the home of the 20-year-old air hostess in Manipur’s Thoubal district, her family broke down in grief

Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma from Manipur was one of the 12 crew members on board the ill-fated Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. (Image: News18)

A 20-year-old air hostess from Manipur was one of the 12 crew members on the ill-fated Air India flight, which crashed into a residential area shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.

More than 200 people were killed in the crash, but Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma’s family clings to hope that she may have made it out alive as her mobile phone is still switched on. As news of the accident reached her home in Manipur’s Thoubal district, her family broke down in grief.

Her family said her mobile phone is still switched on and is receiving signals but nobody is responding to their repeated calls. But, her status is not yet confirmed as the authorities have not released a list of fatalities.

“We called her up several times after receiving the news but nobody picked up the calls. The internet on her phone is also still on. However, we stopped calling her around 6 pm fearing it would drain the battery,” K Khenjita, a relative, told PTI.

‘WHERE HAVE YOU GONE’

Wails pierced the air in Awang Leikai in Thoubal as the news of the crash reached Nganthoi’s residence. In visuals by news agency PTI, a woman is frantically flipping through photo albums and calling out for her.

Nganthoi is the middle child among three siblings. Her eldest sister works in a private school and her youngest sister is studying in class 9.

As reported by NDTV, other relatives try to console the woman, but she can only be heard saying in Manipuri: “My child, my child, I raised with these hands, where have you gone? I want to see you. Where are you? Please bring my phone, I need to see her photos. I am going crazy.”

One of her cousins said her last message before takeoff was: “I’m going to London. In a few minutes, we’ll take off. We may not be able to talk for a while.”

“We were devastated upon hearing the news… I was very close to her. Today, I can’t help but remember what she had said earlier. She had said she was very scared of plane crash and did not know what she would do in such a scenario,” the cousin told PTI.

‘FAKE NEWS ABOUT HER DEATH SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE’

The family said Nganthoi was recruited by Air India in Imphal three years ago. She had applied for the job just to try her luck as she was studying an undergraduate course at that time. She got selected and was based in Mumbai.

They said they contacted aviation authorities to know about her condition but did not receive any update. Nganthoi’s cousin expressed frustration over the spread of fake news about her death on social media without any confirmation.

“We are desperately trying to get news about her but fake news about her death is spreading like wildfire. Her photos and videos are being widely shared. It is really hurting us all as we are trying to balance our emotional trauma along with the challenge to get news,” she said. “My brother, who is based in Delhi, and another cousin based in Chandigarh are rushing to Ahmedabad tonight to the site for more information.”

News Desk

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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More

Location :

Imphal, India, India

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