Miracle survivor instils‘Viswash' in providence
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Ahmedabad: Seat 11A saved Viswashkumar Ramesh. His brother Ajaykumar Ramesh sat across the aisles in 11J. Within 30 seconds, fate split them forever aboard AI Flight 171.
The London-bound flight crashed shortly after takeoff Thursday afternoon.
British citizen Viswashkumar staggered out of the wreckage — the only confirmed survivor — and is now recovering in bed 11 of ward B7 at Ahmedabad civil hospital.
His brother Ajaykumar is feared dead.
"There was a loud noise," Viswashkumar told cousin Dhirendra Somabhai from his hospital bed. "The plane hung suspended mid-air. Then came the pilot's voice: 'Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!'" Dhirendra said Viswashkumar only remembers jumping through a door.
"Nothing more."
Video clips show him stumbling through debris, bloodied and dazed, shouting: "Plane fatyo che! Plane fatyo che! (The plane exploded)." Rescue workers and locals pulled him toward an ambulance. At the hospital, he cried out: "Where is my brother? Leave me alone. I don't want to talk. Can anyone tell me where he is?"
Officials sealed off the ward around 2.30pm after he was identified. Gujarat ATS and Ahmedabad crime branch officers have restricted access since.
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The brothers had lived in London for 15 years, running a garment business in the UK while managing a fishing enterprise in Diu. They were among 15 residents of Diu's Bucharwada and Vanakbara on the flight.
Ayub Mansuri, a family friend who drove them to the airport Thursday morning, said Viswashkumar's father in London called him with news of the crash. "I spoke to Viswash three times after the crash. Then his phone went dead," he said.
"I hired an auto to get through roadblocks around the hospital. Viswash had head injuries and bruises."
"On Wednesday night, we were all in Patelwadi," said Dhirendra. "Viswash told me, 'I don't know when we'll meet next.'" Diu additional district magistrate Vivek Kumar said all 15 passengers from the region have been identified. "One has survived. A team from the Diu administration has left for Ahmedabad," he said.
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