Air India plane crash: Lone survivor gives his first reaction

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is the lone survivor of the tragic Air India plane crash.

On Thursday, June 12, the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that was bound for London shook the nation and even sparked reactions from other countries of the world. The crash, which claimed 241 lives, had one survivor who escaped death, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. The lone survivor has now given his first reaction after the tragic crash and surviving it.

A lone survivor of the Air India plane crash gives his first reaction.

A day after the tragic crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad that claimed 241 lives, the lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, spoke to the media for the first time from the hospital, where he is being treated for his injuries. He recounted the harrowing moments of his miraculous survival. The conversation is the only first-hand account from inside the doomed flight. Vishwash, a 40-year-old British national of Indian origin, spoke with DD News on Friday morning from the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. He was seated in row 11A, next to the left-side window in the economy section of the ill-fated aircraft, near an emergency exit, when the crash occurred.

What did Vishwash Kumar Ramesh say about his lucky escape?

Vishwash recalled the sequence of the events after the impact near the Meghani Nagar area. He said, “Even I can’t believe how I came out of it alive. For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive. I still can’t believe how I survived.” He added, “When the flight took off, within 5 to 10 seconds, it felt like it was stuck in the air. Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there. When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out. I tried, and I did. Maybe the people who were on the other side of the plane weren’t able to.” His section of the aircraft, he said, remained grounded and did not crash onto the roof of the building, unlike the rest of the plane. He continued, “I don’t know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses and two people I saw near me…I walked out of the rubble.”

The Air India plane from Ahmedabad to London on June 12 carried 230 passengers and 12 crew members. The aircraft plunged 33 seconds after takeoff, slamming into a residential area near the airport. According to the authorities, the passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 52 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national.