Flight attendant, 26, killed in Air India plane crash was set to get engaged in November

Roshni Songhare – the 26-year-old flight attendant killed in the Ahmedabad plane crash – was on the verge of a new beginning. She was set to tie the knot with a merchant navy officer next year, and her happy family was buzzing with preparations. However, their excitement crumbled into despair when, on Thursday, the ill-fated Air India flight exploded within seconds of take-off, taking the lives of 241 passengers – including the "heartbeat" of the Songhare family.

Songhare, who was quite popular on social media with over 73,000 followers, had left her home three days ago for duty – “excited, as always” – to serve on international flights, this time from Ahmedabad to London.

But the fatal plane crash cruelly extinguished her dreams, leaving her entire family—50-year-old father Rajendra, mother Shobha, and younger brother Vignesh—devastated beyond words. "She was the heartbeat of our home," one of the relatives told news agency PTI.

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"We were getting her engaged in November and married in March," a close relative told PTI. "Time played cruelly with her," he added.

Hailing from Mandangad in Maharashtra’s coastal Ratnagiri district, the Songhare family had relocated to Mumbai for better opportunities and settled in Dombivli two years ago. 

A relative described Roshni, “bright and full of determination," and said she was the pride and strength of the family.  Her father worked tirelessly to ensure both his children received a good education. Inspired by the skies, Roshni pursued her dream and completed a course in flight attending. 

She began her aviation journey with SpiceJet before joining Air India, where she eagerly took on international assignments, cherishing every moment she spent in the air, her family shared. “She was overjoyed to be flying again. We were all eagerly preparing for her wedding,” they said.

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"Everything was going right," said her uncle, Praveen Sukhdere, who rushed to Dombivli to be with the grieving family.

As news of the plane crash broke, panic set in as the family desperately tried to reach Roshni — but their calls went unanswered. Fearing the worst, her father and younger brother rushed to Ahmedabad, clinging to hope. 

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Roshni’s fiancé, a well-educated merchant navy officer from Guhagar taluka and currently based in Thane, had been introduced to her through a family acquaintance. “She was finally getting everything she had worked so hard for,” a neighbour said tearfully.