Kirit was on his way to spend the summer helping out in the village shop
16:25, 16 Jun 2025Updated 16:58, 16 Jun 2025
Kirit Patel, who was killed in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, in June 2025. He was on his way to spend the summer with his son Umang, daughter-in-law Vaishali and their two sons, who run the vllage stores and Post Office in Pensford, near Bristol(Image: The Patel family)
A village near Bristol is in mourning this week after it emerged the father of the man who runs the village post office was one of the passengers killed in the plane crash in India – on his way to his annual holiday staying in the village.
And now villagers in Pensford, just south of Bristol, have raised thousands of pounds in just a day, to support their much-loved village shopkeeper and his family, who are reeling from the shock news from Ahmedabad.
On board the Air India flight to London was Kirit Patel, the father of the man who has run Pensford’s village shop and post office for more than 10 years.
Umang Patel, and his wife Vaishali have two sons and are much-loved members of the village community. The entire family has now travelled to India to be with family while they await the result of DNA matching to formally identify Kirit’s body.
Kirit, who was originally from Lambhval village in Gujurat, was a well-known face in Pensford – he’d spend most summers in the village, helping out behind the shop counter and with his grandsons.
Locals have been taking to Pensford’s community Facebook page to pay tribute to him, and to express their sorrow and condolences for the family.
One villager Katrina Southgate set up a fundraiser so that villagers could help with the sudden unexpected costs of such a tragedy, including travelling to India.
Katrina set the fundraiser target at £2,000 but within hours it sailed past £5,000 as scores of villagers donated.
“The response has been incredible and, in the majority, it is the local and surrounding community who are giving,” said Katrina.
READ MORE: Bristol student missed Air India flight crash by just 10 minutesREAD MORE: India plane crash with 240 victims includes Gloucestershire family
“My children go to Pensford Primary School and we love the family and the Post Office and shop, so after chatting with a few others about how we could show our support, I set up the GoFundMe page. The response just shows how much the family means to people in Pensford,” she added.
Pensford Post Office and Shop(Image: Google Maps)
“Kirit was a regular face around the village as he spent the summers with the family. They are a core part of the Pensford community. Villagers speak about their kindness and willingness to help others, and there is no greater reward after a hard day at school than a trip to the Post Office,” she added, urging villagers to donate. “So let’s pay it back and show them how much the community supports them at this time,” she said.
To find out more about the fundraiser, click here.