Joy and grief for lone India crash survivor's family
LEICESTER, United Kingdom: The UK-based family of the lone survivor of the Air India crash were torn on Friday between joy at his miracle escape and grief at the loss of his brother.
"We are happy Vishwash has been saved, but on the other hand we are just heartbroken about Ajay," his cousin told AFP outside the family home in central Leicester.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, is believed to be the only person to have survived the crash when Air India Flight 171 plummeted from the sky shortly after taking off from the northern Indian city of Ahmedabad.
His brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, was on the same flight but is believed to have perished in the disaster. There were 242 passengers and crew on the plane, including 53 British citizens.
At least 24 people were killed on the ground, officials said, after the aeroplane landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch.
Since Thursday's tragedy, the small Leicester street where Ramesh's parents and younger brother lived has been flooded with visitors.
Ramesh lives not far away with his wife and son, his cousin Hiren Kantilal, 19, told AFP.
Ajay also lived in the town, one of the oldest in England, and the two brothers ran a confectionery business together.
"They are wonderful people, and heartful people. They are the greatest men I have ever seen in my life, both of them," said Kantilal.
The brothers were returning to the UK after spending a few weeks on holiday in India, and the family had been waiting to go and pick them up at Gatwick Airport.
Shortly after the crash, they were shocked when Ramesh, who had reportedly been in seat 11A, called his father to say he was alive. Ajay was seated at the other end of the row.
"Our plane has been crashed," Ramesh told his dad, according to his cousin.
"He was bleeding all over him, in the face and everything, and he said: 'I am just waiting for my brother and I don't know how I got out of the plane'.
"He said: 'Do not worry about me, try to find out about Ajay Kumar,' and he said: 'I am totally fine'."
Kantilal said his cousin had waited for about 10 to 15 minutes seeking his brother, and then was whisked away to hospital by the rescue services.
Images which went viral on social media apparently showed Ramesh walking away from the wreckage of the 787-8 Boeing Dreamliner, and have been splashed across the front pages of British media along with a photo of him in his hospital bed.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Ramesh on Friday at the hospital where he is being treated for burns and other injuries, footage on his YouTube channel showed.
"Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn't believe how I managed to come out alive from that," Ramesh said from his hospital bed, speaking in Hindi to national broadcaster DD News.
His parents had also been desperately trying to contact his brother Ajay on Thursday. "The call was going through, but no-one was answering the call," Kantilal said.
At the family home, relatives were frantically scanning their phones to try to buy a flight to Ahmedabad later on Friday afternoon.
Downing Street said that the foreign ministry had been in touch with Ramesh to offer him consular assistance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
32 minutes ago
- The Sun
Survival and loss in Air India plane disaster
AHMEDABAD: Grieving families are mourning at least 279 killed when a London-bound passenger jet crashed in India, with the victims in Ahmedabad ranging from a top politician to a teenage tea seller. One man on board the plane, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew, miraculously survived the fiery crash on Thursday afternoon. But that lone British citizen was the only story of escape from the jet. 'I saw my child for the first time in two years, it was a great time,' said Anil Patel, whose son and daughter-in-law had surprised him with a visit from Britain. 'And now, there is nothing,' he said, breaking down in tears. 'Whatever the gods wanted has happened.' Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members. At least 38 people were killed on the ground. The nose and front wheel of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner landed on a canteen building where medical students were having lunch. Mohit Chavda, 25, a junior doctor in Ahmedabad, described how he escaped through choking black smoke after the plane smashed into the dining hall. 'There was almost zero visibility,' Chavda said. 'We were not able to see even who was sitting beside us -- so we just ran from there.' Scorch marks scar the buildings, where chunks of the plane were embedded into its walls. 'He caught fire' Among the dead was Vijay Rupani, 68, a senior member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party and former chief minister of Gujarat state. But they also included teenager Akash Patni, who Indian media reported had been snoozing under a tree in the fierce heat of the day near his family's tea stall in Ahmedabad. 'He caught fire in front of my eyes,' his mother Kalpesh Patni said, weeping as she talked to the Indian Express newspaper. 'I won't be able to live without him.' Businessman Suresh Mistry, 53, said his daughter Kinal was a trained dancer, an excellent cook and a yoga enthusiast. A chef in London, she had been visiting her family in India and postponed her flight to stay a few more days. Mistry described the last time he spoke to her, when she called to say the plane was about to take off and he could head back home without any worry. He said he couldn't stop thinking about how, if she had stuck to her original plan, 'she would have been alive'.
The Sun
32 minutes ago
- The Sun
India plane crash death toll rises to 279
AHMEDABAD:Grieving families waited Saturday for news after one of the deadliest air disasters in decades, with the toll rising to 279 people killed in the Indian passenger jet crash. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday, bursting into a fireball as it hit residential buildings. On Saturday, a police source said that 279 bodies had been recovered from the crash site in the northern Indian city of Ahmedabad, one of the worst plane disasters of the 21st century. There was one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the jet when it crashed, leaving the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of a hostel for medical staff. At least 38 people were killed on the ground. 'I saw my child for the first time in two years, it was a great time,' said Anil Patel, whose son and daughter-in-law had surprised him with a visit before boarding the Air India flight. 'And now, there is nothing,' he said, breaking down in tears. 'Whatever the gods wanted has happened.' Search for black box Distraught relatives of passengers have been providing DNA samples in Ahmedabad, with some having to fly to India to help the process. The official casualty number will not be finalised until the slow process of DNA identification is completed. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Those killed ranged from a top politician to a teenage tea seller. The lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, said even he could not explain how he survived. 'Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive,' Ramesh, a British citizen, told national broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Friday that a flight data recorder, or black box, had been recovered, saying it would 'significantly aid' investigations. Forensic teams are still looking for the second black box, as they probe why the plane crashed after lifting barely 100 metres (330 feet) from the ground. US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
FACTBOX-What is known about the Air India crash and its investigation
A tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building after the incident in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. - Photo: Reuters NEW DELHI: Air India's deadly plane crash on Thursday (June 12) that killed at least 270 people has triggered a wave of speculation about what led to the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade, but authorities are slowly narrowing down areas of investigation. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the most advanced jets in service and experts say it has a generally strong safety record, with no previous fatal accidents. Here's what is known about the air crash so far: VISUAL EVIDENCE One of the strongest pieces of evidence that investigators are reviewing is a 59-second CCTV video clip that clearly shows the takeoff and the crash of the plane from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad city, western Gujarat state. The CCTV camera was located on the far left of the runway near a wall with barbed wire. The video shows that the Tata Group-owned Air India plane takes off, gains some altitude, flies flat for a couple of seconds, and then starts descending with its tail down. The descent of the plane starts roughly 17 seconds after takeoff. There is no fire visible around the engine or elsewhere when the plane appears to start going down, and has already crossed the airport boundary wall. The landing gear visibly remains open throughout the clip. It took roughly 33 seconds from wheels-up for the plane to crash, erupting into a huge fireball. WHERE DID THE PLANE FALL The plane crashed into the B.J. Medical College hostel. Images of the dining area shortly after the incident showed wheels and other parts of the aircraft embedded in the walls, while debris and belongings of the students, including clothes and books, lay scattered on the floor. Steel tumblers and plates still containing food lay on the few tables that were left intact. A strong stench of jet fuel hung in the air at the site on Friday, as authorities used cranes to remove charred trees and debris. POSSIBLE CAUSES Air India officials and scores of Indian government investigators have been at the crash site since Thursday. No initial findings have been disclosed so far, but investigators are considering at least three key possible issues, according to a source with direct knowledge. Investigators are assessing if there are any issues related to engine thrust, which is the force produced by the engine to push it forward through the air. Investigators are also looking at any possible operational issues with flaps. Anti-terror squads have also been part of the investigation teams. Officials are also assessing why was the landing gear was open for so long after takeoff. A possible bird strike is not a focus of the probe. The source added that officials are also looking at any possible fault of Air India, including any possible maintenance issues. WHERE'S THE BLACK BOX? India's aviation ministry has said investigators and rescue workers recovered the digital flight data recorder - one of the two black boxes on the plane - from the rooftop of the building on which the jet crashed. There was no information on the cockpit voice recorder, the other black box, which is also crucial to the probe. India's aviation regulator has conducted additional maintenance actions on Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including "one-time check" of the take-off parameters before the departure of every flight from midnight of June 15. The airline has also been asked to conduct electronic engine control tests and engine fuel related checks. - Reuters
