Entire Rajasthan family lost in Air India Flight AI171 crash
South Africans have taken to social media to express shock, heartbreak, and frustration following reports that an entire family from Rajasthan, India, was killed in a tragic plane crash involving Air India Flight AI171.
The victims, Pratik Joshi, a London-based software engineer, his wife Dr Komi Vyas, and their three children, five-year-old twins Nakul and Pradyut, and eight-year-old Miraya, were among the passengers on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed just 32 seconds after takeoff en route to London.
The devastating accident also claimed lives on the ground, with only one known survivor, a British national.
Mzansi netizens were left shaken by the heartbreaking details, including a now-viral selfie of the smiling family moments before the crash, a picture that has since become a haunting reminder of dreams cut short.
Emotions online ranged from sorrow to frustration and even spiritual reflection.
“Postpone nothing!! We must do it now. This life is too short 💔,” wrote one user, urging people to cherish every moment.
Another blamed poor infrastructure in developing countries: “We need to boycott underdeveloped, government-owned airlines… imagine riding SA Airways or Mango when you have access to Qatar or Emirates.”
Some responses took on a superstitious tone: “Looks like the ancestors didn’t want this family to leave the motherland. Now innocent lives suffered too,” one person speculated.
“I always had a superstition not to travel with my whole family on the same flight. Stories like this reinforce my belief,” another commented.
While the official cause of the crash is still under investigation, South Africans continue to watch closely, with some pointing to pilot error and others even floating conspiracy theories.
“Guess maybe he was the target but they killed everyone else as collateral damage so no one would find out,” a user wrote.
