Air India crash: ‘I had nothing’: Indian-origin man who lost wife and daughter in Air India crash faces deportation from UK

Nearly a year after the disastrous Air India Flight 171 crash claimed the lives of his wife and two-year-old daughter, a 28-year-old man of Indian origin is now fighting a new battle – to stay in the UK.Mohammadmiya Sethwala, from Vadodara, Gujarat, was informed on April 9 by the UK Home Office that his application to stay in the country on compassionate grounds had been refused.Authorities have placed him on immigration bail until April 22 and instructed him to leave the UK thereafter.Sethwala moved to the UK on a dependent visa in 2022, and his wife Sadiqa is studying international business management.The couple later settled in Rugby, where she found work and was expected to obtain a work permit, which would stabilize their future in the UK.That future suddenly came to an end on June 12, 2025, when an Ahmedabad-to-London flight crashed shortly after takeoff, with Sadiqa and their toddler Fatima among the victims.

“I have nothing left”

Narrating his ordeal, Sethwara said he had been working the morning shift on the day of the accident so that he could pick up his family from the airport. He told The Sun: “I thought it must be a different aircraft… it couldn’t be theirs, but it was.”This tragedy not only took away his family, but also the basis for his legal residence in the UK. His dependent visa expired earlier this year and subsequent efforts to obtain a new visa or employment sponsorship failed.Sethwara, who was battling grief and mental health issues, said returning to India was not an option he could emotionally bear. “I have nothing… I won’t be able to escape the sadness back home. But here I can start moving forward,” he told The Sun.

legal battle

Sethvara’s legal team is preparing to challenge the Home Office’s decision in the UK courts, seeking to have his immigration bail order lifted. If successful, he can reapply for a visa.His case has drawn criticism from activists and immigrant rights groups, who argue that exceptional humanitarian circumstances should warrant leniency. However, the Home Office said all applications are assessed strictly in accordance with current immigration rules.

Life pauses in dreams

After briefly returning to India after the crash, Sethwara began rebuilding his life in London with the support of relatives and a close-knit community, friends said.The crash of Air India Flight 171 remains one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent years. The Boeing 787-8 crashed into a medical dormitory building and burst into flames, killing passengers, crew and people on the ground.