New Delhi: 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, recounting the harrowing moments of his miraculous survival.
The conversation is the only first-hand account from inside the doomed flight.
The 40-year-old Indian origin British national spoke to DD News on Friday morning from the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. He was seated in row 11A, next to a left-side window in the economy section of the ill-fated aircraft – near an emergency exit – when the crash occurred.
“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,” Vishwash Kumar recalled the sequence of the events after the impact near Meghani Nagar area.
The aircraft, which was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members, plunged 33 seconds after takeoff, slamming into buildings near the airport. According to Air India authorities, the passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national.
Vishwash Kumar’s section of the aircraft remained grounded and did not crash onto the roof of the building, unlike the rest of the plane. “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.”
He had earlier told doctors treating him that his seat, right next to the emergency door, came off after the plane struck the hostel and broke.
The British national said that his left hand was burned in the blaze that broke out soon after the crash. “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,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited him at the hospital this morning.
