Prayers across South East for India crash victims

Prayers across South East for India crash victims

Prayers are being held across the South East for people who died in the Air India plane crash on Thursday.

A temple in Gravesend, Kent, is holding a memorial service on Sunday to remember the victims.

President of Om Mandir Hindu Temple, Abnash Sareen, said the memorial service aims to “bring the community together”.

He added: “It was absolutely tragic what happened on Thursday. When I saw the news I just couldn’t believe my eyes.”

The Air India flight AI171, which was bound for Gatwick, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport.

Air India confirmed at least 241 people died while only one survived and India’s civil aviation minister has said a black box has been found at the crash site.

Mr Sareen said following the news of the crash, members of the community came to the temple on Thursday to mourn those who died.

“Many people, including myself, had tears in our eyes, we just couldn’t believe what had happened,” he said.

“Even if you didn’t know the people who died in the crash, it is still extremely upsetting.”

Mr Sareen hopes the memorial service on Sunday will help the community heal.

“We want to let people know we stick together during difficult times,” he added.

‘Closer to home’

Shyam Govinda, who represents the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) community in Crawley, told BBC Sussex people were “shocked” and “devastated” by the news.

“Many people are affected by it, our community especially because of the proximity of the airport to Crawley,” he said.

“There is a large Gujarati community here, many of us have family members and friends in Ahmedabad so the tragedy seems a lot closer to home.”

A special prayer session will be held on Sunday at 17:00 BST at the Bhakti Yoga Centre.

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