Two doctors and their children snapped a heartbreaking final selfie onboard the doomed Air India plane just moments before disaster struck.
The picture was taken to celebrate ‘new beginnings’ as Komi Vyas, a doctor who worked in Udaipur, had quit her job and was moving to join her husband, Dr Prateek Joshi, in London, with their three children.
But, tragically, the family are among the at least 241 dead after the Gatwick-bound aircraft crashed moments after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat yesterday.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner careened back down to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST).
The plane carried 242 passengers but at least 260 people, including some victims on the ground, are thought to have died.
The selfie, taken by Dr Joshi, shows him and his wife seated on one side, smiling, and their young twin boys and elder daughter sitting across the aisle, also with huge grins on their faces.
The couple’s twin boys – Nakul and Pradyut – were five years old and their daughter, Miraya, was eight.
Dr Joshi’s cousin, Nayan said: ‘They left for Ahmedabad yesterday to take the flight to London. Prateek had come here just two days ago to take his wife and children with him.
Two doctors and their three children snapped a heartbreaking final selfie onboard the doomed Air India plane just moments before disaster struck. The picture was taken to celebrate ‘new beginnings’ as Komi Vyas, a doctor who worked in Udaipur, had quit her job and was moving to join her husband, Dr Prateek Joshi, in London with their three children
But, tragically, the family are among the 260 who are feared to have died after the Gatwick-bound aircraft crashed just moments after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat yesterday
Dr Komi Vyas’ brother, Prabuddha, said she had married Dr Prateek Joshi ten years ago.
Terrifying CCTV footage shows the doomed Air India plane taking off and then plunging into the ground and exploding into a deadly fireball.
In the newly surfaced clip, the Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner is seen accelerating down the runway before pitching upwards and taking flight.
But just moments later, the plane appears to lose control and is shown rapidly descending with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.
The aircraft then explodes in a huge fireball upon impact, as a massive plume of black smoke is seen billowing out from the site of the crash.
Aviation experts say that the aircraft, which was carrying 242 passengers, including 53 Britons, may have suddenly lost power ‘at the most critical phase of flight’ after takeoff.
Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after departing Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat this morning.
A British father miraculously survived the plane disaster.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, spoke from the safety of a hospital bed after escaping from the fallen Gatwick-bound Flight 171 this morning.