Southeast Pray for Indian crash victims
Prayers were spread across the southeast by those killed in an Indian plane crash on Thursday.
A temple in Gravesend, Kent held a memorial service on Sunday to honor the victims.
Abnash Sareen, president of the Hindu monastery at Om Mandir, said the memorial service was to “harbor the community together.”
He added: “What happened on Thursday was absolutely tragic. When I saw the news, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Air India AI171 flew to Gatwick and crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport.
Air India confirmed that at least 241 people died and only one survived, and India’s civil aviation minister said a black box was found at the crash site.
Mr Salin said community members came to the temple on Thursday after the news of the crash.
“Many people, including myself, have tears in their eyes and we can’t believe what happened,” he said.
“Even if you don’t know the person who died in the crash, you’re still very frustrated.”
Mr Sareen hopes Sunday’s memorial service will help the community recover.
“We want people to know that we are united in difficult times,” he added.
“Look closer to home”
Shyam Govinda, representing Crawley’s ISKCON (International Krishna Society for Consciousness) community, told the BBC Sussex people were “shocked” and “destroyed” by the news.
“Many people are affected by it, especially because the airport is close to Crowley,” he said.
“There is a large community in Gujarat here and many of us have family and friends in Ahmedabad, so this tragedy seems to be very close to home.”
A special prayer meeting will be held at Bakti Yoga Centre on Sunday at 17:00 BST.
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