Hundreds of people, including the inconsolable family and friends of First Officer Clive Kunder, co-pilot of the Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad last week on Thursday gathered to give an emotional farewell to him, reported the PTI.
Kunder`s last rites were performed at Sewri Christian Cemetery in eastern Mumbai on Thursday afternoon, hours after his mortal remains were brought from Ahmedabad.
According to PTI, many people with tearful eyes were seen holding pictures of the pilot as they bid him their final goodbye, exactly a week after his death in the crash.
Earlier, on Thursday morning, the casket carrying Kunder`s remains arrived at Mumbai airport by flight. It was then taken by his family members to his residence at Suntek City on Ram Mandir Road, Goregaon (West).
As per the PTI, numerous friends, relatives, and local residents assembled at his home to pay their respects and later participated in his funeral. Kunder had lived in Mumbai with his elderly parents and a younger sister. His remains were kept at his home until 1 pm before being transported to the cemetery.
The London-bound Air India flight AI-171, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, crashed on June 12. All but one person on board the plane tragically died, along with 29 individuals on the ground, when the aircraft smashed into a medical hostel complex in the Gujarat city.
The ill-fated flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, alongside First Officer Kunder. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had earlier stated that Sabharwal possessed 8,200 hours of flying experience, while Kunder had 1,100 hours experience of flying, according to the PTI.
The last rites for Sabharwal, who also hailed from Mumbai, were performed on Tuesday.
As the aircraft departed from the Ahmedabad airport at 1:39 pm on June 12. Soon after the take-off, the chief pilot, Sabharwal had issued a `Mayday` distress call – denoting a full emergency – to Air Traffic Control in Ahmedabad. But unfortunately moments later, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner tragically crashed into the complex situated just outside the airport compound.
(With inputs from PTI)
