A radiologist, his pathologist wife, and their three children have been named among the 240-plus victims of the Air India plane crash, according to a report posted by BBC News on 13 June.
Dr. Prateek Joshi worked as a consultant radiologist at Royal Derby Hospital, U.K. His wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, had recently resigned from her job at the Pacific Hospital in Udaipur, Rajasthan, to join her husband in the U.K.
Their 8-year-old daughter Miraya and twin 5-year-old sons, Nakul and Pradyut, were also on board the flight, the Derby Hindu Temple told the BBC. In a post on social media, a spokesperson for the temple said they were praying “to give strength to the bereaved family to bear this immense loss.”
Ahmedabad is the largest city in the state of Gujarat, in western India. The Sabarmati River runs through the city.
The disaster happened on 12 June, when a Boeing 787 bound for Gatwick Airport, south of London, crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport, in western India. It was carrying 242 people, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian, the BBC reported. The sole survivor, Vishwashkumar Ramesh from Leicester, U.K., was in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit.
Dr. Mario Dimitrio Donadio, a locum radiologist who worked with Joshi, told the BBC he felt a “darkness and heavy sensation” in his heart when he heard the news. He described his former colleague and flatmate as a “very good professional” and said he was “very happy” when they went out for a meal with other radiologists in May.
Donadio said Joshi was “really ecstatic” when he told him a few days ago that he was planning on bringing his family in India to live with him in the U.K. to start a “new chapter in life.”
“He was always very jolly, he was a sunny character, always bright and sparkling,” Donadio told the BBC. “The world is at loss, to lose people like him.”
Stephen Posey, chief executive of the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Prateek was not only an excellent doctor for whom nothing was too much trouble, but also a warm, smiling and kind man who was a hugely liked and valued member of the team."
Joshi moved from India to Derby in 2021 and worked at UHDB for four years, the trust told the BBC.
Dr. Rajeev Singh, consultant radiologist at UHDB, said Joshi was "full of joy" and "an exceptional radiologist". "He often entertained colleagues with stories about his passions outside of work, including his newly discovered love of fish and chips and enthusiasm for walking in the Peak District. He touched the lives of so many people, both through his clinical work and as a colleague and friend to many."
To read the full report, go to: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5ex3132lro
