King Charles can only offer ‘thoughts and prayers’ as 53 British nationals perish

An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Ahmedabad Airport in India to London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, leading to a terrible loss of life. There were 244 people on board, including 53 British citizens, 169 Indian nationals, one Canadian, and seven Portuguese passengers. The flight was supposed to arrive at Gatwick Airport at 6:25 PM UK time.

As found by YourLocalGuardian, King Charles III released a statement on the Royal Family’s X account, saying that he and his wife were “desperately shocked” by the “horrifically tragic event.” He offered “special prayers and the deepest possible sympathy” to the families and friends of the victims and thanked the emergency services.

Similarly, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the images from the crash were “heartbreaking” and that his “thoughts are with the passengers and their families during this extremely painful time.” However, both statements have faced criticism from parts of the British public. The huge scale of the tragedy (with 53 British citizens among the dead) has led to accusations that the official responses are not enough, amounting to little more than sympathy without real action or meaningful support for the grieving families.

Airplane crash gets response from the king

We’ve heard some amazing stories from plane crashes and even with a survivor, but rarely does a king respond to them. The disaster has led to official reactions from both the U.K. and Indian governments, but the way these responses have been handled has attracted a lot of public attention.

The “thoughts and prayers” approach is insufficient because of how enormous the loss is. Fifty-three British families are now dealing with the unbearable pain of losing loved ones in a sudden and catastrophic accident. The government’s response should do more than just express sympathy; it should actively help the affected families with practical needs.

This includes speeding up the process of identifying and returning the victims’ bodies, providing immediate financial aid, offering mental health support, and setting up clear ways to keep families updated on the investigation and recovery efforts.

Unlike the UK’s response, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a statement saying he was heartbroken and deeply saddened by the tragedy. He mentioned that he had been in contact with officials working to help those affected, showing a more hands-on approach to dealing with the immediate impact of the crash. While the exact details of the Indian government’s actions have not been shared, the tone of the statement suggests a more active response compared to the U.K.’s seemingly more distant remarks.