UK national jumped out of emergency exit in Indian aircraft disaster

India Gazette

9 hours ago

NEW DELHI, India: Ramesh Viswashkumar, a 40-year-old British national, has been identified as the sole known survivor of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, which claimed 241 lives.
The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner headed to London's Gatwick Airport with 232 passengers and 10 crew members, crashed 32 seconds after take-off, plowing into a medical college hostel near the airport.
Miraculously, Viswashkumar managed to survive what is being called one of the worst aviation disasters in recent history. According to officials, he was seated in seat 11A, near an emergency exit, and somehow escaped the wreckage—possibly by jumping out—before or just after impact. Senior Ahmedabad police officer Vidhi Chaudhary stated, "He was near the emergency exit and managed to escape by jumping out the emergency door."
From his hospital bed, Viswashkumar described the harrowing aftermath. "When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital," he told the Hindustan Times .
It is not yet confirmed whether he jumped before or after the crash. Footage shown on Indian television channels appeared to show a man with facial injuries and a bloodstained white shirt limping down a road. The man, who resembles Viswashkumar and was later seen in hospital photographs, told bystanders that "they're all inside," referring to the other passengers.
Viswashkumar had been visiting family in India and was returning to the UK with his brother, Ajay, who was seated elsewhere on the plane. "He only said that he was fine, nothing else," said Ajay Valgi, a cousin based in Leicester, England, who spoke to the BBC . The family has not yet received any information about Ajay's fate. "We're not doing well. We're all upset," Valgi added. Viswashkumar, who lives in the UK, is married and has a son.
The crash site was a scene of devastation. The aircraft struck a residential zone near the airport and tore into the lunchroom of a medical hostel. Initial reports put the death toll at 294, but police later clarified that the number was inflated due to body parts being counted more than once. The current toll stands at over 240 dead, including several on the ground.
Authorities continue rescue operations, though they admit the chance of finding more survivors is slim. "Chances are that there might be more survivors among the injured who are being treated in the hospital," said officer Chaudhary.
News of a sole survivor has gripped the public imagination and triggered emotional reactions on social media. Many people expressed amazement, calling it a miracle or an act of divine intervention. The story of Viswashkumar's survival is already being compared to other rare instances of individuals living through catastrophic air disasters alone.
Among those recalling their brushes with such tragedies is George Lamson Jr., who was the only survivor of a 1985 Galaxy Airlines crash in Reno, Nevada. He shared that news of the India crash and Viswashkumar's survival "shook" him. In 2009, 12-year-old Bahia Bakari survived a Yemenia Airways crash in the Indian Ocean, and in 2006, co-pilot Jim Polehinke was the only survivor of a Comair flight that crashed in Kentucky. Cecelia Crocker, then a young girl, survived the 1987 Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crash in Michigan, which killed 154, including her immediate family.
Now, Ramesh Viswashkumar joins this small, tragic fraternity of lone survivors. While the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, and families await word on missing loved ones, his story stands out as a beacon of hope in the midst of overwhelming loss.