western Indian state of Gujarat, to begin a new chapter at university in London. Now, less than 24 hours later, she sits frozen in shock and grief, in the same clothes she wore for that farewell – her world upended by a devastating crash. Her son, Sanket, was among the 242 people aboard Air India flight AI171, which plunged from the sky just seconds after take-off – leaving only one survivor, and hundreds of shattered families.

Three officials from India’s National Disaster Response Force told CNN on Friday that a flight recorder from the doomed flight had been located, a crucial step which could provide families with vital clues as to why the plane came down. The Boeing Dreamliner crashed into a medical college hostel, killing passengers, crew and an unclear number of people on the ground, making it one of India’s deadliest plane crashes in decades.

For hours, Gauswami clung to the faintest hope that Sanket had somehow made it out alive. But by Thursday night, hope had given way to heartbreak as she faced the unimaginable: offering her DNA to help identify her only child among the dead. “We have had no news,” she chokes out, sitting with her sister, who is also crying. “We keep asking but no one will tell us.” Sunny Kakadia, 38, has been long-term friends with Javed Ali Syed, who was on the ill-fated Air India plane with his wife Mariam and their young children Zayn, 6, and Amani, 4. The two friends grew up together in Mumbai, went to college together and attended each other’s weddings. Javed worked in hotel management in London and held British citizenship. He had been living there for 10 years and had come home to visit his ailing mother, who is suffering from a heart condition. Kakadia dropped his friend off at Mumbai airport, from where he took a flight to Ahmedabad, the airport where he and his family were due to fly home to London. (CNN)