Two young sisters, aged four and eight, were left orphaned after losing both parents in just 18 days. Their mother, Bharti Patoliya, died following a “courageous battle with cancer.” Shortly after, their father, Arjun Patoliya, died in the July 12 Air India crash that killed 270 people — India’s deadliest aviation tragedy in over 30 years.

Arjun, 37, had traveled to Gujarat to scatter Bharti’s ashes, fulfilling her final wish. “Arjun left to bid farewell to his wife, never returned to the children they both raised,” reads a heartbreaking message on a fundraiser page.

The flight crashed less than a minute after takeoff, and investigations into the cause are still ongoing. Arjun’s death has left the girls without parents, devastating their extended family.

“In a span of just 18 days, two young sisters… have lost both of their beloved parents,” the GoFundMe page states. Over £576,000 has been raised to support the girls’ future.

Arjun’s mother, Kanchan Patoliya, said she or her younger son Gopal will care for the girls. “Once we complete all the rituals, we will sit down and decide the future of both girls,” she told *The Indian Express*.