A 39-year-old nurse from Pullad village in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, Ranjitha Gopakumar, was among the victims of the devastating plane crash that occurred in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Her death has left a trail of grief and unanswered questions, not just for her family, but for an entire village that had watched her journey with pride.

A mother of two, Ranjitha had returned to India from the UK just four days earlier to complete documentation.

Kerala Nurse Killed In Ahmedabad Plane Crash

Ranjitha had big plans: to build a new home, bring her children and ageing mother under one roof, and ensure them a safer, more secure future.

"She was happy and hopeful when she left. There were so many plans. So many dreams," a relative said, as per a report on PTI.

Ranjitha had been working as a nurse abroad, first in Salalah, Oman, and more recently in the UK. She had taken a temporary leave from the Kerala government health service to pursue better prospects overseas — all with the single-minded goal of providing her son and daughter, aged 15 and 12, a better life.

On the day of the crash, Ranjitha was travelling from Chennai to Ahmedabad, en route to the UK to collect her release certificate from the hospital where she had been employed. It was supposed to be a brief visit back to her overseas life before rejoining the health service in India. Instead, the journey ended in tragedy, as the aircraft caught fire shortly after take-off and crashed, killing many on board.

Her sudden demise has cast a pall over Pullad, where her elderly mother, Thulassykuttiyamma, and her two children now face a future without their pillar of support. Ranjitha is survived by her mother, her two children — Indhuchoodan and Etheka — and her two brothers.