New Delhi: Dr Komi Vyas, who has just moved from Udaipur to London with her husband, Dr Prateek Joshi, and their three children, shared a smiling selfie inside Air India Flight AI171 unaware moments later it would crash near his home city in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025.
Earlier, Flight AI171 => Boeing 787 Dreamliner, took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:38 PM for London Gatwick Airport. Shortly after, the aircraft sent out a mayday call, spiralled in the Meghani Nagar region, and collided with the doctors’ hostel at BJ Medical College. Two hundred four people died in the crash, including all 242 passengers and crew members on board, among them Vyas, Joshi and their three children.
Komi Vyas, who had recently called off her job at a Udaipur hospital, was shifting to join her husband, Dr Prateek Joshi, a medical professional working in London. Couple also had their three children, age unknown, with them on board. One of the selfies shared by Vyas on social media platforms, in which the family appear to be all seated together smiling, surfaced on social media after the tragedy, adding a poignant note to it.
It was too late to react to the way it fell to the ground. Wreckage from the accident, including the rear section of the plane that was stuck at the top of the lodging, spread into the neighbouring suburbs. Emergency services, including the Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), laboured throughout the night to retrieve bodies and find survivors, but only the other passenger, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was found alive.
The passenger manifest published by Air India confirmed that there were 169 Indian nationals among the victims as well as 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also died in the crash, Union Minister C.R. Patil said. The Indian Medical Association Gujarat reported the deaths of three MBBS students and the injuries of 45 others on the hostel campus.
In X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the loss as “heartbreaking beyond words.”. Air India owner Tata Group announced Rs 1 crore for the next of kin of those killed and said it will bear all medical costs for the injured. The airline also established a hotline (1800 5691 444) and relief flights for families.
Flightradar24 data suggests the signal from the plane was lost at an altitude of 625 feet, and the cause is under investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board provided assistance, and Boeing is assisting with the investigation.
Among the hundreds who lost their lives in the Ahmedabad crash were Komi Vyas, one of the 48 Indians on board, her husband Prateek Joshi, and their children.
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