Couple expecting baby among plane crash victims

A seven-month pregnant woman and her husband were among those to die in the Air India plane crash.

Vaibhav Patel, 29, and his 27-year-old wife Jinal Goswami had travelled to Ahmedabad for their baby shower.

The couple were living in Croydon, London, but had recently moved from Southampton in Hampshire where Mr Patel had worked.

Their close friend Nirav Patel told the BBC the pair were very happy and excited for the birth of their first child.

Their funeral was held in India on Monday.

Nirav, who lives in Southampton, said he had been friends with Vaibhav for over a decade and knew him from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

He said that Viabhav, who had been married to his wife for four years, was a "good person who always supported his family and friends".

"When he worked in Southampton I saw him a lot. We worked together at Papa Johns in Portswood.

"The couple were in Ahmedabad to celebrate their own baby shower. It was on the 5 June. She was seven months pregnant. They were very happy.

"Vaibhav did not have a father, so he was the big son supporting the family back in India."

Nirav said news of the came as a huge shock to him and all of the family in India.

"He had rung me two days before the flight to tell me he was coming home," he said.

"We were very good friends and had so much fun together... many trips around India, like to Goa or Rajasthan. This is a massive loss."

The manager of Papa John's in Portswood, Southampton, where Vaibhav Patel had previously worked said he was a "true gentleman".

Harshil Thaker said his ex-employee "worked very hard and was a family man".

There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian on the flight.

Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash.

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