‘Ok, Ma! The flight is about to take off, I will call you when I reach the destination,’ said Air India crew member Manisha Thapa in her last conversation with her mother before Air India flight AI171 crashed into the hostel mess of a medical college. ‘OK, beta, I will also finish the household chores, ’ the mother replied to the crew member’s request. 

Manisha Thapa, an air hostess with Air India for the past three years, was among the 265 people who lost their lives to a deadly plane crash in Ahmedabad. Just hours before the incident, she had spoken to her mother, Laxmi Thapa. The news of her passing sent shockwaves through her family in Patna's Jagdev Path Mahua Bagh.

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Manisha's relatives describe her as cheerful and caring. Before departing, she had purchased a mobile phone from her relative Ritesh Thapa's shop. Her uncle, Bablu Thapa, expressed devastation, saying, "All the younger brothers and sisters are sad. We're just looking at Manisha's photos."

The family is anxiously awaiting the identification and retrieval of Manisha's body. Her brother Amit Thapa said, "The sister's body is not being found. There are some bodies in the mortuary, but it's difficult to identify them." Manisha's father, Raju Thapa, a sub-inspector in the Bihar Police, and her brother are currently in Ahmedabad, trying to locate her body.

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Manisha joined Air India in 2017 after working with Indigo in Patna. She would visit her family every three to four months and maintained close relationships with her relatives. Her grandmother, Shanti Devi, is heartbroken, often asking to speak to Manisha.