Manipur has come together to mourn the deaths of two of citizens – one Kuki and one Meitei – who were among the ten cabin crew members onboard the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

The crash killed all but one of the 241 of the people aboard. The exact number of people killed on the ground has yet to be determined but on Friday the police said they had sent 265 bodies for postmortems.

Nganthoi Sharma Kongbrailatpam, 21, was from Thoubal district. Lamnunthem Singson, 28, had been displaced from Manipur’s capital Imphal by the ethnic violence that erupted in May 2023 and was living in the Kuki-dominated hill district of Kangpokpi.

The conflict between Manipur’s two major communities, the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo, has left 260 people dead and forced more than 70,000 people to flee their homes.

Manipur’s civil society groups across the chasm have expressed their sorrow at the deaths of the two crew members.

“They worked side by side in the skies, representing unity in diversity – a symbol of hope and harmony amidst today’s troubled times,” said the North East Society at Ambedkar University Delhi in a statement.

On Saturday, The Sangai Express, the most widely circulated English daily in the state, published an editorial on June 14 titled “Saluting Nganthoi, Lamnunthem: Joining Hands in Grief.”

“…In death the two young girls managed to do what the political wizards, the word jugglers, the social leaders have failed to do for over 730 days – bring the Kukis and the Meiteis on the same page,” it said.

The deaths have left the women’s families devastated.

Nganthoi’s father was at home when he first heard about the plane crash.

“The internet was suspended in Manipur because of the conflict,” Nandesh Kumar Sharma, told Scroll. “Some friends who works in the CID [police unit] told me that my daughter’s photo and name were on the list of the cabin crew members. He asked if it was true. Since then, all we’ve heard is news of loss and tragedy.”

A couple of hours before the take-off, Nganthoi had informed her family that she would be on the flight to London.

Sharma made several calls to his daughter.

“Her phone rang until midnight... but there was no response,” he said. “Eventually, it switched off.”

Later, the family heard that only one person on the plane had survived the crash. “We were just waiting,” Sharma said.

“Out of my three daughters, one is gone,” Sharma said. “We’re now waiting for her last rites. Her mother and younger sister have stopped eating and drinking. My elder daughter and some relatives have gone to Gujarat for DNA testing and to bring back her mortal remains.”

Since the bodies of those who perished in the crash are badly charred, DNA has to be collected from relatives to help establish identities.

The family’s last communication with Nganthoi was a message at around 11 am on Thursday, saying she would be flying to London.

For the past two years, Nganthoi had been supporting her family financially. Her father works as a cook, while her elder sister is a school teacher.

“She contributed 50% towards building our new home and helped fund her younger sister’s education,” her cousin Twinkle told Scroll. “She also paid for her parents’ medical bills.”

She last visited her family on March 17, when her father was in hospital. “It was a surprise visit – she loved giving surprises.” Twinkle said. “She stayed for three-four days and then returned to Mumbai, where she lived.”

Nganthoi had joined Air India in April 2023 when she was 19 years.

“There was a recruitment drive in Manipur for cabin crew,” Twinkle said. “Some of her friends invited her to come along, and she was selected for training and later became part of the cabin crew.”

Like many others, her family has also suffered due to the ethnic conflict. “Manipur is bearing deep losses,” said Nandesh Kumar Sharma. “We live under constant fear and violence. It’s dangerous to even step outside, as the situation can turn violent at any moment.”

Although the Sharma family have not spoken directly to the Kuki family that also lost their daughter in the crash, Nandesh Kumar Sharma said he knows both families are united in grief and prayer.

“We [the Kuki and Meitei communities] don’t talk at home, but my daughter and [Lamnunthem Singson] worked together like friends in other states,” Nandesh Kumar Sharma said. “I pray that the souls of both girls are at peace. I saw on the news that the Kuki family is also praying, just like us.”

Meanwhile, members of Singson’s have also arrived in Ahmedabad for DNA testing. Singson hailed from Old Lambulane in Imphal but had been living as an internally displaced person in Kangpokpi as a result of the conflict. She had joined Air India in 2024.

“Her untimely death is a great loss to her family and the Thadou community,” Thadou Students’ Association said in a statement on Friday as it mourned the deaths of two girls. “May their souls rest in peace.” The Thadous are a Kuki community that speak the Thadou language.

A cousin of Singson, T Thanlingo Haokip, told the BBC that she was her family’s only breadwinner. “Her brother has cancer, and her father has passed away,” he said. “The family was completely dependent on her. Her death is an immense loss.”

Martin Thokchom, the owner of a bookstore in Imphal, reflected the state’s sorrow in a poem posted on Instagram titled Somewhere Over Gujarat.

The internet ban lifted
I opened the news.

A crash in Gujarat
Most did not make it back.

Two names
I didn’t know,
but recognised –
one Meitei,
one Kuki.
Both in uniform.
Both from home.

They were in the sky –
no side
no flag.

Just the fall.