Air India crash: Entire family tragically killed after posting selfie from inside jet moments before takeoff

Years of sacrifice to build a better life for his family were wiped away in moments after an Indian expat, his wife and three children died right after posting a haunting image from on board the doomed Air India flight.

Beaming smiles and unbridled excitement were the order of the day as Dr Prateek Joshi snapped a selfie from inside the plane just before take-off, on a journey to relocate his family to London.

Working in the UK for over six years, Dr Joshi reportedly endured long periods separated from his wife Dr Komi Vyas, and their three children, twin five-year-old boys Nakul and Pradyut and their daughter, eight-year-old, Miraya.

In their bid to create a new life, the final journey to their new home was about to begin. But it was a trip that would turn to tragedy.

Air India Dreamliner flight 171 to London’s Gatwick airport was the chariot to their end goal, but moments after takeoff, disaster struck, and all but one of the 242 passengers and crew were killed as the jet slammed into a local training hospital in Ahmedabad.

Dr Joshi’s family had lived in Rajasthan’s Banswara and Udaipur, the region hit hardest by the devastating crash death toll, and Dr Vyas had only resigned from her job in the days leading up to the flight, according to NDTV.

“The entire town is grieving,” a close family friend told local news sources.

“They were a warm, aspirational couple who wanted the best for their children.”

Dr Vyas and Dr Joshi had both previously worked at the Pacific Hospital in Udaipur, with a spokesperson saying that “Komi (Vyas) had quit her job recently to join her husband in London”.

The ill-fated flight climbed into the sky after leaving Ahmedabad airport on Thursday but was only airborne for around 32 seconds before it dropped and crashed, exploding into a fireball at 1.38pm local time.

A British passenger was the lone survivor after he climbed clear and walked away from the wreckage.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old man, was rescued from seat 11A and is currently receiving treatment at Civil Hospital in Asarwa, according to local officials.

“We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities. The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital,” Air India announced soon after the crash.

Speaking to local media, Mr Ramesh described the horror of seeing bodies all around him before his rescue.

“There were bodies all around me, there were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance,” he revealed to News18.

“The police found one survivor in seat 11A. He is under treatment. We can’t confirm the final death toll yet, as the crash occurred in a residential area and that number may rise,” Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik told media.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “stunned” by the tragedy and is in touch with ministers and authorities.

“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected,” Mr Modi said via X.