More than £7,000 raised for Air India crash victim

An online fundraising page set up to support the family of a mother killed in the Air India plane crash has raised more than £7,000 in less than a week.

Abdhiben Patel, 40, was flying back to the UK after visiting her elderly mother when flight AI171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on 12 June.

The crowdfunding page was set up to support the family of Ms Patel, known as Abdhi, who was from Northampton, and stopped taking donations last week.

It describe the beauty salon manager as "a kind soul who touched the lives of everyone she met".

At least 270 people were killed when the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed within seconds of taking off on 12 June from Ahmedabad airport in western India.

Ms Patel told a friend she was reluctant to fly to India two weeks ago to care for her elderly mother because she was worried about leaving her young son behind.

The organisers of the fundraising page said they hoped to cover funeral expenses, support the education of Ms Patel's son and help her husband "as he adjusts to life as a single parent".

Investigators recovered flight recorder data from the crash earlier this month but it could be several weeks before the federal government is able to release information gathered.

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