Doctor Family Was Moving To London On Doomed Flight. Father Shares His Story

NDTV

14-06-2025

Ahmedabad (Gujarat):
Dr. JP Joshi, father of Dr. Prateek Joshi, and Dr. Anil Vyas, father of Dr. Komi Joshi, shared their profound grief and frustration.
Dr. Prateek Joshi, a radiologist working in London, his wife, Dr. Komi Joshi, a pathologist from Rajasthan, and their three children, a 9-year-old daughter, Miraya, and 4-year-old twin boys, Nakul and Pradyut, were among the 241 passengers who lost their lives in the Air India Flight AI171 crash on June 12, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, plunging into the Meghani Nagar area and killing all but one passenger, along with several people on the ground.
Dr. Prateek Joshi's father, Dr. JP Joshi said: "He had come to India to take his family with him. He had been working in London for four years. He often came back to visit his children and wife. He never used to take a direct flight. But he said he would this time, so it would be easier for the children. His wife had resigned from her job in Udaipur so that they could live together. She packed all their belongings and got the children's transfer certificate, all by herself. My grandchildren, the twin boys, would have turned five on 15 August. They were born on 15 August and now both of them are free. We went to drop them off at the airport. He even told me that Papa, you also get prepared to come live with me in London. I told him that first, you settle down, then I will come. I was also looking into shutting down my clinic so my wife and I could move to London to stay with our son. That picture going viral on social media is from inside the plane. My grandchildren were so happy to be moving to London. My grandsons slept with me the whole night. We had purchased their school bags. They slept all night with their school bags, saying they would now study in London. No one from the airlines has contacted us."
Dr. Komi Joshi's father, Dr. Anil Vyas, recounted his last moments of contact with his daughter: "First, we went to the hospital to check if they were admitted to the ICU. But we couldn't find them anywhere. Then we gave samples for a DNA test. We appeal to the government to hand over their remains to us soon, or if nothing is left of their bodies, then tell us that too, so we can go back. The shortcomings of the Air India flight should also be investigated quickly so that such incidents do not happen again. I had spoken to her at 1:32 PM for the last time on a video call. She called me when their plane was on the runway to talk one last time before take-off. She wanted to talk to her mother. But since her mother was in the operating theatre, I told Komi not to hurry and talk to her mother after she reached Derby. I started getting calls from people after a mere 15 minutes, asking which plane they were in. I found out that they were in the same plane that crashed. We rushed here. Roads were blocked everywhere. The crash happened just two to three minutes after I last talked to her."
The family was set to begin a new chapter in London, with Dr. Komi Vyas having resigned from her position at Pacific Hospital in Udaipur to join her husband, who had been working at Royal Derby Hospital since 2021. A selfie taken by Dr. Prateek Joshi onboard the flight, showing the smiling family, has gone viral, capturing their excitement for the journey ahead.
On Thursday, the Al-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport. The airlines said only one out of the 242 people on board the aircraft survived the crash.
There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on board the crashed plane, airline authorities said.