Final selfie of doctor couple goes viral after Ahmedabad crash kills entire family
Ahmedabad: A final selfie taken aboard Air India Flight AI-171 has gone viral, capturing a young doctor couple from Rajasthan and their three children just moments before the plane crashed seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad. All five members of the family perished in the tragedy, along with 236 others on board.
Dr Komi Vyas, a medical professional from Udaipur, had recently quit her job to join her husband, Dr Prateek Joshi, in London. Dr Joshi had been working in the UK and had returned to India just two days earlier to accompany his family on the journey back.
"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. Several other members of both families went to see them off," said Dr Joshi’s cousin Nayan.
The family, including twin sons Nakul and Pradyut (5) and daughter Miraya (8), boarded the ill-fated flight bound for London Gatwick. However, the aircraft failed to gain altitude and crashed into a residential building 32 seconds after take-off, erupting into flames. Of the 242 passengers and crew on board, only one person survived.
The image of the family, smiling and seated inside the aircraft, has since circulated widely on social media, a heartbreaking visual of lives filled with hope and anticipation, cut short in an instant.
What was meant to be the beginning of a new life abroad has now become a symbol of profound loss, with the final photograph standing as a tragic reminder of the fragility of life.
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MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
