Nearly a year after the devastating Air India Flight 171 crash took the lives of his wife and two-year-old daughter, a 28-year-old Indian-origin man is now fighting a new battle – to remain in the United Kingdom.Mohammadia Sethwala, originally from Vadodara, Gujarat, was informed by the UK Home Office on April 9 that his application to remain in the country on compassionate grounds had been rejected.Authorities have kept him on immigration bail until April 22 and have directed him to leave Britain after that.Sethwala had moved to the UK in 2022 on a dependent visa to join his wife Sadiqa, who was studying International Business Management.The couple later settled in Rugby, where she had secured employment and was on her way to obtaining a work permit, a move that would have secured their future in Britain.That future was suddenly shattered on June 12, 2025, when an Ahmedabad-London flight crashed moments after takeoff, killing Sadiqa and her baby Fatima.

“I have nothing left”

Recalling his ordeal, Sethwala said that on the day of the accident he was working the morning shift so that he could pick up his family from the airport. Speaking to The Sun, he said: “I thought it would be a different plane… It couldn’t be theirs, but it was.”This tragedy not only took away his family, but also took away his basis for legal stay in Britain. His dependent visa expired earlier this year, and subsequent attempts to secure a new visa or employment sponsorship have failed.Struggling with grief and mental health problems, Sethwala says returning to India is not an option he can bear emotionally. He told The Sun, “I have nothing left… I won’t be able to escape my grief by coming back home. But here I can start to move forward.”

legal battle

Sethwala’s legal team is preparing to challenge the Home Office’s decision in a UK court, seeking to lift the immigration bail order. If successful, this may allow him to apply afresh for the visa.His case has been criticized by activists and migrant rights groups, who argue that leniency should be exercised in exceptional humanitarian circumstances. However, the Home Office has said that all applications are assessed strictly in accordance with existing immigration rules.

A life stopped in the middle of a dream

After returning to India briefly after the accident, Sethwala began rebuilding his life in London with the support of relatives and a close-knit community, friends say.The Air India Flight 171 crash remains one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent years, killing passengers, crew and people on the ground after the Boeing 787-8 plane crashed into a medical hostel building and burst into flames.