Indian nurse was returning to London after visiting Kerala to build her dream home

Renjitha Gopakumar, a 40-year-old nurse from Kerala and mother of two, has been confirmed among the victims of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. She was en route to London, where she had been working as a nurse for the past year, following a five-year stint in Oman.

Gopakumar had returned to Kerala on leave just days earlier to explore rejoining the state’s government health service. Her visit was also tied to preparations for her new home, with a housewarming planned for June 28. She had told her neighbors she would be returning soon to settle permanently in Kerala.

Renjitha left her hometown on Wednesday, traveling by train to Chennai and then flying to Ahmedabad, from where she was scheduled to board the ill-fated Air India flight to Gatwick, London.

Her sudden death has left her family and community in deep grief. Her aged mother, who was caring for her two children—a 10-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter—was inconsolable upon receiving the news.

Her daughter was surprised to see a crowd in front of her house as she came back from school.

Seeing her grandmother wailing and her brother in tears, she also started crying without knowing the reason.

As she was told what had happened, she started wailing loudly.

Neighbors recalled Renjitha as a kind, dependable woman. “She was the backbone of her family,” said one. “She left saying she would be back very soon.”

The contractor building her new home revealed she had asked for a portion of the house to be completed quickly, indicating her serious intent to return and settle in Kerala permanently.

What was meant to be a brief trip back to her job abroad has ended in a tragedy that has devastated an entire family and shaken the community that knew her.