Heartbreaking moment battered & bandaged Brit survivor of Air India disaster carries tragic brother's coffin at funeral
THIS is the heartbreaking moment the miracle Brit lone survivor of the Air India crash carries his brother's coffin at the funeral.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, staggered away from the plane just before it exploded, whilst all other 241 passengers - including his brother Ajay - were killed.
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Footage shows Vishwash walking solemnly at the rear of the coffin with visible cuts and bruises, surrounded by other pallbearers.
The battered Brit has plasters on his face and walks with a limp as he holds the casket at the ceremony in Gujarat - the state where the crash happened.
There is a constant commotion around the procession, but Vishwash appears lost in his own thoughts.
The tragic parade made its way through the streets less than a week after the plane came down.
Vishwash has been in hospital for most of that time recovering from his ordeal - and was even visited by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sitting 11A - a window seat by an emergency exit - he was flung from the Boeing 787 when it smashed down shortly after takeoff.
Ajay was at the far end of the same row, on the other side of the aisle.
Vishwash's family from Leicester - including his wife and son - have flown out to India.
An incredible video surface this week of Vishwash heading back to the blazing wreck in an attempt to find rescue his brother.
He was captured walking unsteadily towards the blazing students' hostel as black smoke billowed in the sky.
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Lone Brit survivor of Air India disaster says he'll be racked with guilt for life after missed chance to move bro's seat
PLANE crash survivor Vishwash Ramesh poses for The Sun as he appears in public for the first time since his incredible escape and declared: 'It's a miracle.' Vishwash, 40, was happy to show how he is recovering from the Air India disaster which killed 279 people. 15 15 15 15 But he revealed he is racked with guilt over the death of his brother Ajay on the flight. He had tried to arrange two seats next to each other in row 11 by the emergency exits. By the time he came to choose seats other passengers were sitting in part of the row so the brothers had to sit separately. Vishwash – in Seat 11A – survived the crash and was able to crawl through a hole in the twisted fuselage of the downed Boeing 787 Dreamliner. But Ajay was on the other side of the aisle in 11J and died along with 240 other passengers and crew. Married dad-of-one Vishwash is now struggling with survivors' guilt and said: 'If we had been sat together we both might have survived. 'I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one. Me and Ajay would have been sitting together. 'But I lost my brother in front of my eyes. So now I am constantly thinking 'Why can't I save my brother?' 'It's a miracle I survived. I am okay physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay.' Overcome with emotion he told friends: 'I wish I was not alive.' Moment miracle Brit survivor of Air India disaster heads BACK to burning wreck to save brother saying 'I have to save him' Vishwash is recovering in his family's home village of Diu, on the east coast of India, where he ran a two-boat fishing business with brother Ajay after inheriting it from their dad. The fishing industry grinds to a halt when the monsoon season starts in June so Vishwash and Ajay were returning to England. Vishwash was looking forward to being reunited with his wife Hiral and their four-year-old son at their home in Leicester when he and Ajay boarded flight AI 171 around 1pm last Thursday and buckled themselves into their seats on row 11. But moments after take-off he knew there was a problem. 15 15 15 He said: 'It felt like something got stuck and the lights started flickering. 'Everything happened in seconds. I realised we were going down.' The pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 55, frantically radioed air traffic control to yell: 'No thrust… May Day…May Day.' Vishwash went on: 'The aircraft wasn't gaining altitude and was just gliding. 'After that, the plane seemed to speed up, before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded. "Everything was visible in front of my eyes when the crash happened. "I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive.' He unbuckled his seat belt and with everyone around him dead or dying he managed to crawl through an opening in the mangled fuselage. He added: 'Where I landed was closer to the ground and there was space too - and when my door broke - I saw that there was space. I saw an opening. I used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out. 'Everyone around me was either dead or dying. I still don't understand how I escaped." 15 15 15 He staggered out of the compound of a medical college as a huge fireball engulfed a hostel where 100 students and staff were having lunch in a canteen. Stunned locals and rescuers spotted him as he bravely tried to go back into the raging inferno to look for Ajay before paramedics led him to an ambulance. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital less than a mile away where he spent five days recovering during which time he was visited by Indian Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Doctors discharged him on Tuesday and he returned to the family home where his parents Bava and Manibhai are now supporting him along with his wife and child and younger brother Nayan, after flying in from their homes in Leicester. Friends and neighbours in Diu have also been celebrating his incredible escape – but are also grieving. As well as Ajay, another 14 people from the tiny island, a former Portuguese colony, died on the flight. 15 15 Vishwash's childhood friend Bipin Bamania, 52, said: 'He is getting great support from his family and they are obviously delighted he is alive. 'But they are all heartbroken as well over the loss of Ajay. 'I spoke to Vishwash after the crash and he said that he was in pain and needed to rest but he was basically okay. 'I am very happy that he survived but also very sad that his brother died. 'Vishwash spends part of the year here and part of it in England. 15 15 'He runs two fishing boats with his family but the fishing stops when the monsoon comes. 'So then he goes back to England. 'Vishwas is a very good person. He gets along with everyone very well. 'He has no animosity with anyone and when he is here in the village he likes to hang out with his friends. 'He is a great family man, too. He loves his wife and child very much. 'When his son was born he was delighted. During the months he is here in India he rings them twice a day every single day. 'That has always been his routine.' The grim process of identifying victims through DNA and dental records was continuing yesterday with 202now positively identified. A total of 157 bodies have been handed to families for funerals. A welcome from the world's luckiest man By Robin Perrie, Chief Foreign Correspondent WITH India's torrential monsoon rains beating down, the luckiest man in the world shuffled onto his veranda. The physical injuries Vishwash Ramesh suffered when flight AI 171 exploded as it crashed seconds after take-off are still visible on his face. But he can't celebrate his miracle escape because of the hidden mental trauma - sitting eight seats away in the same aisle was his younger brother, Ajay, who perished along with everyone else on the flight. And survivors' guilt is weighing so heavily on his shoulders you fear he will never shrug it off. I met Vishwash at the brightly-coloured, three-storeyed family home in the coastal village of Diu where he is now recuperating after five days in hospital. He arrived back there late on Tuesday and within hours was carrying his brother's coffin as the village turned out to mourn his passing. Under doctors' orders, Vishwash returned early from the funeral to rest again at home. Surrounded by grieving family members, he was happy to come out of the house to greet us. As women cooked chapattis on outside fires he posed for pictures before limping back inside, the trauma clearly hanging heavy over him. Friends had already told me how he is a hospitable, amiable man who never has a bad word to say about anyone. That shone through as he made us welcome in his home, but just as evident thanks to his soft handshake was the trauma he has suffered - physical and mental. The luckiest man in the world barely had enough strength left to keep hold of my outstretched hand.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Funeral for Air India crash victim after DNA match
A DNA sample has matched to a man loved ones feared was on board the Air India flight which crashed in Ahmedabad, family members have told the BBC.A funeral was held in Dagachi Dui, India, at 10:30 BST on Wednesday for Faizan Rafik, 25, who was travelling home to Leicester when the plane crashed on are also due to gather at the Faizan e Madina mosque in Leicester on Thursday, when prayers will be Rafik's cousin, Sameer Rafik, told the BBC on Tuesday loved ones had still been "hoping to hear some good news" but they "weren't getting any updates from anywhere". Sameer also backed calls for the UK government to provide more support to the families of the victims involved in the crash."It feels very awful," he said. "He's nothing to the government – just a piece of paper, feels like tearing it up and throwing it in the bin."We don't know what to do because we're completely blank. We need some kind of support from someone, we need a guide about what to do but we don't have that at the moment." In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: "Our staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash."Air India has been approached for a comment.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
India vice-captain Rishabh Pant vows to make his country 'happy again' after tragic Ahmedabad air disaster - with black armbands to be worn ahead of first Test with England at Headingley
Rishabh Pant has vowed to 'make India happy again' after the Ahmedabad air disaster last week that killed 241 passengers and crew, and dozens more on the ground. Friday's first Test between England and India at Headingley is expected to begin with a minute's silence, while both sides will wear black armbands. Both countries were heavily affected by the tragedy, with the on-board death toll including 181 Indians and 53 British nationals. 'What happened with the aircraft, the whole of India was disheartened,' said Pant, India's vice-captain and wicketkeeper. 'The only thing from our side, we're going to be sticking to how we can make India happy again. 'The emotion is going to be high because of what happened in the crash. But we are going to put our best foot forward for the country – how we can make them happy. And that's the added responsibility.' Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site where the Air India plane crashed in India On June 12, just days before India's five-Test tour of England, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff, resulting in a total of 274 fatalities. The aircraft lost stability at approximately 625 feet altitude and descended rapidly within a minute of departure, crashing into the hostel block of B.J. Medical College in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad. The sole survivor, 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was seated in seat 11A near an emergency exit and managed to escape the wreckage with injuries. Investigations are ongoing, with both black boxes recovered, one of which sustained minor damage. Preliminary reports suggest potential mechanical failures, with the aircraft's landing gear possibly still deployed during takeoff. In the wake of the disaster, former Australian cricketer David Warner vowed never to fly Air India, sharing an alleged account from an ex-crew member of the airline named Vivek on social media. The former crew member's post made a series of allegations about Air India and the aircraft which crashed at Ahmedabad, claiming the plane 'had issues for years' and that pilots were forced to fly it if 'the company didn't have a spare Dreamliner the Dreamliner'. Although there is no evidence to suggest that the information in this post is factual - or that Air India is at fault for the tragedy, Warner shared the post with the caption: 'If this is true it's absolutely shocking. Thoughts go out to all the families.' 'I would never fly @airindia ever again after this and my last interaction with them,' he added. The previous incident Warner is referring to happened in March, when he and hundreds of other passengers were forced to wait in an Air India plane that did not have any pilots. 'We've boarded an aircraft without any pilots and have been waiting for hours. Given that you don't have any pilots for the aircraft, why would you still board passengers? Warner posted to X at the time. Air India addressed the issue in a social media response at the time and said: 'Departure was delayed because the crew running your flight was delayed on a previous assignment that was impacted by these problems. Thank you for choosing to fly with us, and we appreciate your patience.' Meanwhile, England had a huge decision to make on vice-captain Ollie Pope ahead of the first Test against India on Friday, with the Surrey batter under pressure from rising star Jacob Bethell.
