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Prayers are being held across the South East for people who died in the Air India plane crash on Thursday.<\/p>\n
A temple in Gravesend, Kent, is holding a memorial service on Sunday to remember the victims.<\/p>\n
President of Om Mandir Hindu Temple, Abnash Sareen, said the memorial service aims to “bring the community together”.<\/p>\n
He added: “It was absolutely tragic what happened on Thursday. When I saw the news I just couldn’t believe my eyes.”<\/p>\n
The Air India flight AI171, which was bound for Gatwick, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport.<\/p>\n
Air India confirmed at least 241 people died while only one survived<\/a> and India’s civil aviation minister has said a black box has been found at the crash site.<\/a><\/p>\n Mr Sareen said following the news of the crash, members of the community came to the temple on Thursday to mourn those who died.<\/p>\n “Many people, including myself, had tears in our eyes, we just couldn’t believe what had happened,” he said.<\/p>\n “Even if you didn’t know the people who died in the crash, it is still extremely upsetting.”<\/p>\n Mr Sareen hopes the memorial service on Sunday will help the community heal.<\/p>\n “We want to let people know we stick together during difficult times,” he added.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Many people are affected by it, our community especially because of the proximity of the airport to Crawley,” he said.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n A special prayer session will be held on Sunday at 17:00 BST at the Bhakti Yoga Centre.<\/p>\n Follow BBC Kent on <\/em>Facebook<\/em><\/a>, on <\/em>X<\/em><\/a>, and on <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a>. Send your story ideas to <\/em>southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk<\/em><\/a> or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.<\/em><\/p>\n‘Closer to home’<\/h2>\n
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