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Vigil for 'kind' nurse who died in plane crash

Daisy Stephens
BBC News, South
Malayali Association of Portsmouth Renjitha Gopakumaran Nair stands in a room with another woman beside her. She is smiling, has long, straight dark hair and is in traditional dress.Malayali Association of Portsmouth
Renjitha Gopakumaran Nair was planning to move back to India to be reunited with her two children, her family said

A vigil has been held for a "kind and compassionate" nurse who died in the Air India plane crash on Thursday.

Renjitha Gopakumaran Nair had recently resigned from her job at Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra (QA) Hospital and travelled to India to submit documents for a nursing post in Kerala, where she planned to move back to.

A vigil was held for her at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth, as part of a sports day event organised by the Union of UK Malayalee Associations (UUKMA) - which friends said Ms Renjitha had been hoping to attend.

Leena Furtado, who worked with her at the QA Hospital, said she was "very kind and humble" and her death was "the biggest loss".

"Once you meet Renjitha, there is no way you will forget her," she said.

"She was a very humble person with a smile on her face all the time."

Ms Furtado is has wavy dark hair and is wearing sunglasses and a green patterned top. She's smiling at the camera and there's grass and a metal railing behind her. It's a sunny day and the sky is blue.
Ms Furtado said Ms Renjitha was always smiling

She said there were "no words" to express the loss.

"When we heard the news, and when we saw it's her name especially, it was heart-breaking," she said.

"[We] can't express what it is we're feeling."

Eldhose Mathew has black hair and black facial hair, both of which are greying. He's wearing a blue and white stripy shirt and is smiling at the camera. There are trees behind him.
Ms Renjitha was "always respectful and warm", Eldhose Mathew said

Eldhose Mathew, who ran a shop where Ms Renjitha was a regular customer, said her death was "unbelievable".

"She was not just a customer - she was just like family," he said.

"She always came into the shop with a very good smile, and always was respectful and warm."

In a eulogy read out at the event, Ms Renjitha's death was described as leaving "a deep void" in the community.

"[She was] a shining light in our community - a gentle soul whose warmth, kindness and humble presence touched many lives," it read.

"She carried with her the spirit of Kerala while building a life in the United Kingdom.

"[Her] life though brief, was full of meaning and love."

A crowd of people, some wearing sportswear, standing and looking solemn. There's a brick building behind them and it's a sunny day.
A eulogy was read out at the event

All but one of the London-bound plane's 242 passengers and crew members died when it crashed in a residential area in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off on Thursday.

UUKMA's president, Eby Sebastian, said Ms Renjitha had an elderly mother, as well as a daughter aged about 12, and a son, who was about 15.

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