Mumbai, June 12 -- A year after 12 Air India crew members lost their lives in the AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad, a memorial service for colleagues, friends and loved ones filled Pioneer Hall in Bandra on Friday morning.

Around 100 former Air India crew members gathered along with families of the deceased, including parents and friends of senior air hostess Shradha Dhavan and the husband of crew member Aparna Mahadik, Amol Mahadik, to pray for their departed souls and celebrate lives cut short of colleagues with whom many had once shared flights.

Introduced as "One Year in Darkness" by moderator Neil Pais, the memorial service opened with hymns by the Air India Crew Thanksgiving Group, a 25-year-old collective of former crew members.

An int...