A farewell wrapped in tears for two youngsters in Bhavnagar

In the quiet villages of Bhavnagar district, sorrow hung heavy in the air on Friday as families bid final farewells to two young lives lost in the tragic plane crash at BJ Medical College.

The grief was palpable, the silence deafening, as loved ones gathered to perform the last rites of Rakesh Diyora and Kajal Solanki.

Rakesh, 20, hailed from Sosiya village in Talaja taluka of Bhavnagar. Born into a humble farming family, Rakesh was the pride of his house.

Brilliant in his studies, he earned his place at BJ Medical College through sheer determination and hard work. His parents, who toiled in the fields, dreamed of seeing him wear a doctor’s coat—an emblem of hope and a better life.

But fate had other plans. On Thursday, that dream was shattered in a moment of unimaginable tragedy. His family, still in disbelief, lit his funeral pyre with trembling hands and hearts heavy with sorrow.

Kajal, 29, was a homoeopathy doctor and a compassionate human being. A native of Mahuva town in Bhavnagar, she had recently celebrated her baby shower, her heart full of anticipation for the new life she was about to bring into the world.

Married and living in the residence hostel with her husband, a neurology doctoral student, Kajal had come to Ahmedabad recently.

Just hours before the crash, she had lunch with her husband and brother, Bhavin Seta, a medical student in Surat. Her husband left for duty, and Kajal sat chatting with Bhavin when the tragedy struck. Kajal died instantly.

Her brother remains missing, and her husband is left to grapple with a loss too profound for words. Kajal’s last rites were performed in Talaja town, surrounded by mourners who struggled to comprehend the cruelty of fate.

But for the families, closure remains elusive. The pain of losing a child, a wife, a sister, a mother-to-be—these are wounds that time may never heal.