'Not talking to anyone': Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, sole survivor of Air India plane crash, seeks psychiatric help

Mint

2 days ago

Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the 12 June Air India AI 717 plane crash, is taking a psychiatrist's help to find a way of coping with the traumatic experience, PTI quoted his cousin as saying.
An Indian-origin British citizen, Vishwas, was the only survivor to have walked away alive when the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner came down seconds after the take-off from the Ahmedabad airport.
However, his brother, who was on the same flight, was not that lucky and killed along with 241 others onboard the AI717 flight. In the tragic crash, another 19 persons on the ground were also killed when the flight hit a medical college's canteen.
Vishwas' another cousin Sunny said that the memories of the scenes of the crash site, his miraculous escape and his brother's death still hound Vishwas.
"Many people, including our relatives living abroad, call us to inquire about Vishwas's well-being. But he does not talk to anyone. He is yet to overcome the mental trauma of the crash and the death of his brother. He still wakes up in the middle of the night and finds it difficult to fall asleep again. We took him to a psychiatrist two days ago to find remedy. He has not made any plans yet to return to London because his treatment has just begun," PTI quoted Sunny as saying.
On 17 June, Vishwas was discharged from the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and on the very same day, the mortal remains of his brother Ajay were handed over to the family following a DNA match.
According to the details, both Vishwas and Ajay were returning to London by the Air India flight after visiting their family in Diu.
On 18 June, Vishwas was seen carrying his brother's mortal remains on his shoulders to the cremation ground in Diu.
A day after the tragic AI717 crash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Vishwas at hospital and enquired about his well-being. Later Vishwas recounted that the aircraft seemed to have stalled within seconds of taking off.
"Luckily, the portion of the plane where I was seated fell on the ground floor of the (medical college) hostel premises after the plane crash- landed. When I saw that the door was broken, I told myself that I can try and get out. Eventually, I came out," he told reporters.