Sole survivor of Air India crash describes failed takeoff and disbelief at being alive
By RAJESH ROY
Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP) — The lone passenger who survived an Air India crash couldn’t believe he was alive when he opened his eyes and was surrounded by flames, debris and charred bodies.
Viswashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, was on the flight headed to London that crashed minutes after taking off from India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. The accident killed 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. Recovery teams working until late Friday found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said.
It was one of India’s worst aviation disasters and the first crash for a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner since the widebody, twin-engine planes went into service in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
Ramesh narrated his ordeal to India’s national broadcaster from a local government hospital, saying the aircraft felt like it became stuck in midair within a few seconds of takeoff. Green and white lights flashed and the aircraft accelerated but seemed unable to gain height before the plane struck a medical college hostel in a residential area.
He saw several passengers and crew members lose their lives. His brother was one of those who perished on board.
Seated in 11A, Ramesh said his side of the plane landed on the ground floor of a building. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out through an open door.
“When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,” said Ramesh, who recalled parts of the plane strewn around the crash site.
Ramesh sustained burn injuries on his left hand and walked some distance in shock before he was assisted by local residents and taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Another brother told Sky News that Ramesh called his father moments after the crash to say he had survived but wasn’t aware of what happened to his brother who was on the flight with him.
“He video called my dad as he crashed and said, ‘Oh the plane’s crashed. I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t see any other passengers. I don’t know how I’m alive, how I exited the plane,’” Nayan Kumar Ramesh said.
Ramesh’s cousin, Ajay Valgi, told the BBC that Ramesh called relatives in Leicester, England, after the crash.
“He only said that he’s fine, nothing else,” said Valgi, adding that Ramesh has a wife and a “little boy” at home. The family is “happy that he’s OK, but we’re still upset about the other brother.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who went to the crash site Friday, also visited the lone survivor in the hospital.
“I told Modi what all I had witnessed. He also enquired about my health,” Ramesh said from his bed.
Dr. Dhaval Gameti said Ramesh, who kept his boarding pass with him in the hospital, was disoriented with multiple injuries over his body but seemed to be out of danger as the medical staff continued to monitor him.
“He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon,” Gameti said Saturday.
