Sixty-plus Arati Baruah of RG Baruah Road had been praying at the temple inside her house for her son's early return. Her son Anupam Baruah was among the victims of today's helicopter crash at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

"Ma refused to eat anything since she heard the news of the crash. She has not been told that Anupam has passed away and is under an impression that he has survived. Our family is in a state of shock. How could destiny be so cruel? My bhaity (brother) had lost his wife last year only. We do not know what to do now," Arup Baruah, the elder brother of Anupam who owns Rhino Travels in the city told The Telegraph.

The deceased's two daughters, Lopa and Diksha, study in St Mary's English High School.

Baruah said his brother Anupam, 45, was very enthusiastic and went to Tawang for business. He said the family came to know about the tragedy from TV news.

"I got the news of Anupam's death from my elder brother Arup this evening. I will be leaving for Guwahati tomorrow," former Assam table tennis player Monalisha Baruah Mehta told The Telegraph from Mumbai.

Kamal Nahata, a renowned medicine specialist in the Rehabari area is in a state of shock as he lost his only daughter Nidhi Bothra in the crash. His son-in-law Nishit is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Tawang.

"My friend Kamal is weeping profusely since he heard the news of the crash. His daughter was staying in Calcutta with her husband," D.P. Bajaj, chairperson of the Blood Bank at Marwari Hospital and Research Centre said.

A relative of Nidhi, 32, said she and her husband, Nishit, had gone on a holiday to Tawang. Nishit is a businessman based in Calcutta.

"They left behind their only son who is four years old," the relative said at Nidhi's parental house at Rehabari .

"The family is preparing to go to Tawang tomorrow to see Nishit. We have heard he is able to speak," he said.

Amit Sarawgi, 30, an executive with Intel who was on a pleasure trip to Tawang with his wife, also died in the crash.

"Amit's wife Karishma suffered severe injuries and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Tawang. No one has been able to console Amit's parents. The deceased's three-year-old son Aahan did not accompany his parents and is in Guwahati with his grandfather," Pradip Sarawgi, maternal uncle of Amit said.

Pawan Hans officials here said the bodies would be flown back to Guwahati tomorrow before being handed over to the families.

"If family members or relatives of those who died and are injured in the crash want to visit Tawang to bring back the bodies, one kin of the deceased will be provided free transport by helicopter from LGBI airport at 8.30am tomorrow," operations manager of Pawan Hans Simanta Bijoy Deb said.