Read how an Odisha couple’s reunion trip to Nepal with kids saw a tragic end

While the plane crash in Nepal has sent shock waves across the world, it unfolded the heart-wrenching story of a man with roots in Odisha and his last trip with his estranged wife and children.  

Ashok Kumar Tripathi (54), his Thane-based estranged wife Vaibhavi Bandekar Tripathi (51) and their son Dhanush (22) and daughter Ritika (15) were among those missing after the ill-fated plane crashed on Monday.  It was a reunion for a trip to Nepal with their children that met a tragic end.

As per sources, Ashok who ran a company in Odisha and Vaibhavi who worked in a firm at BKC in Mumbai had separated following court orders. Vaibhavi along with her children lived in the Rustomjee Athena apartment in Balkum area of Thane city.

After the unfortunate plane crash, Vaibhavi's 80-year-old mother is the only person left at the family's home. Since she is in frail health and currently on oxygen support, their relatives and neighbours have not told her anything about the plane tragedy.

Ashok Tripathi, Vaibhavi and their two children had on Sunday boarded the Tara Airlines plane, the wreckage of which was located in Nepal's mountainous Mustang district on Monday.

The turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane had the four Indian nationals, two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers, besides a three-member Nepali crew on board.

It had gone missing on Sunday morning in the mountainous region of the Himalayan nation minutes after taking off from the tourist city of Pokhara, according to an airline spokesperson.

(With agency input)