Brit survivor of Air India disaster tormented by nightmares where ‘everyone dies' and ‘won't speak' about horror crash
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
AIR India's sole crash survivor has nightmares where "everyone dies," and won't speak about the horror he went through, his family said.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, walked away with cuts and chest injuries after the Boeing 787 slammed into a residential building in Ahmedabad, India.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
10
Vishwash Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, posing for the first time since the disaster
Credit: Dan Charity
10
Vishwash crawled through a hole in the wreckage and walked to an ambulance
Credit: Reuters
10
Vishwash Ramesh is in a hospital a mile from where Air India flight 171 crashed
Credit: HT Photo
Despite being dubbed the "miracle man" and a "symbol of hope" in the country, the Brit still lies tormented by grief and survivor's guilt.
His cousin Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester, says he manages to sleep, but not properly.
He told The Sunday Times: 'When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight.
'He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.'
Vishwash decided to stay in India to recover at his family home in Bucharwada hamlet in Diu, instead of going back to London or Leicester.
He had been sitting in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, and managed to crawl out through a hole in the twisted wreckage.
His brother Ajay, 35, who was on the opposite side of the aisle in seat 11J, was among the 241 passengers who perished.
'He sees him [Ajay] everywhere,' said Keshave.
'He speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. His wife and his son [who is four] are there with him, supporting him.
Air India captain 'deliberately cut off fuel while staying eerily calm before crash
10
'He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much.
'He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash.'
The miracle survivor previously told The Sun he felt "terrible" that he couldn't save his brother is racked with remorse over his death.
'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,' Vishwash said.
'It's a miracle I survived. I am OK physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay.
'If we had been sat together we both might have survived. I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one.'
The pair had been returning to Leicester after the end of the fishing season at their family business in Diu.
Their plan was simple: fly back to the UK on June 12 ahead of the monsoon. But the flight never made it.
Moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, Flight AI171 lost altitude and smashed into a medical college hostel.
A total of 241 passengers and crew plus 19 people on the ground were killed in the tragedy, including 52 Brits.
The crash has become one of the deadliest involving British citizens in recent memory.
Investigators are now zeroing in on a chilling twist in the cockpit.
10
Vishwash walked away from the disaster with just a few cuts and chest injuries
Credit: Twitter
10
Thick black smoke rising from a residential area after Air India flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12
Credit: AFP
10
The tail of Air India flight 171 after it crashed in a residential area near the airport
Credit: AFP
10
Vishwash, left, and his brother Ajaykumar Ramesh, 35, had been in India on a business trip
According to flight data reviewed by US investigators, captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, may have manually flipped the plane's guarded fuel cut-off switches — a move aviation experts say could only have been intentional.
A preliminary summary of the black-box recording reportedly captures co-pilot Clive Kunder asking, 'Why did you cut off?', to which Sabharwal eerily replies, 'I didn't.'
But the switches were flipped off one second apart and then turned back on ten seconds later — too late to restart the engines.
It comes after reports the captain made a haunting final remark to a security guard before leaving home on the day of the flight.
In Vishwash's case, surviving has become its own form of torment.
'He feels guilty that he is the only one to have lived when everybody else, including his brother, died. It's a lot to live with,' another relative told The Sunday Times.
Key findings of Air India preliminary crash report Dual engine shutdown - fuel cutoff switches moved from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF'
- fuel cutoff switches moved from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' Confusion between pilots - cockpit audio confirms one pilot asked 'why did you cut off', the other replied 'I didn't'
- cockpit audio confirms one pilot asked 'why did you cut off', the other replied 'I didn't' RAT deployed - as seen in CCTV footage before the crash, the ram air turbine (RAT) which acts as a backup power source in case of emergencies had deployed
- as seen in CCTV footage before the crash, the ram air turbine (RAT) which acts as a backup power source in case of emergencies had deployed Engine relight attempted - fuel switches were found returned to 'RUN' at crash site
- fuel switches were found returned to 'RUN' at crash site 32 seconds - the time the aircraft was airborne before it crashed
the time the aircraft was airborne before it crashed Thrust levers mismatch - Thrust levers found at idle but black box data shows takeoff thrust was still engaged
- Thrust levers found at idle but black box data shows takeoff thrust was still engaged Fuel test pass - fuel was clean without any contamination
- fuel was clean without any contamination Normal take-off set-up - Flaps and landing gear correctly configured
- Flaps and landing gear correctly configured No bird activity - clear skies, good visibility, light winds
- clear skies, good visibility, light winds Pilot credentials clear - both medically fit and rested
- both medically fit and rested No sabotage detected - although FAA alerted over a known fuel switch vulnerability not checked by Air India
- although FAA alerted over a known fuel switch vulnerability not checked by Air India Aircraft loading - the flight was within weight and balance limits
After escaping the burning wreckage, Vishwash reportedly attempted to go back to save his brother.
'My family member is in there, my brother and he's burning to death. I have to save him,' he pleaded with emergency workers.
Rescuer Satinder Singh Sandhu recalled: 'He was very disoriented and shocked and was limping.
'There was also blood on his face, but he was able to speak.
'He told the paramedics that he was flying to London when the plane fell and that he wanted to go back to save his family.'
Doctors who treated him at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital said he was stable despite his physical wounds.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited him during his five-day stay in hospital before he was discharged and returned home.
Vishwash has since returned to the family's coastal village of Diu, where he is trying to recover with the support of his wife Hiral, their young son, and his extended family.
10
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) meeting with Vishwash Kumar Ramesh at a hospital in Ahmedabad
Credit: AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Incredible pictures show moment seagull SHATTERS cockpit of £73MILLION warplane
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A WARPLANE strikes a seagull at an airshow display — shattering the cockpit canopy. Incredibly the pilot was unharmed and able to land the £73million Eurofighter safely. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The seagull can be seen to the right of the £73million Eurofighter as it flies above an airbase in Spain Credit: SWNS 4 The exact moment of impact is caught by the photographer, as a huge cloud of debris erupts from the fighter's cockpit canopy Credit: SWNS 4 Despite the huge hole in the canopy, the hero pilot managed to safely land the Eurofighter jet Credit: SWNS A photographer captured the split-second strike over the San Javier Air Base in Murcia, Spain, on June 15. But snapper Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero said he realised what had happened only after checking his photos. They show the gull swooping into the path of the jet, before the bird is hit and smashes a giant hole in the canopy. A huge cloud of debris can then be seen exploding out from the pilot's cockpit area READ MORE WORLD NEWS OUT NOW Shark attack fears off Majorca as tourist limps from water with bloody leg wound Javier added: "I was at the base in the San Javier area, at the site where they took us photographers. 'We were watching the Eurofighter display when we saw it leave without finishing. "They reported over the radio it hit a seagull. "I had the whole sequence.' 4 The gaping hole in the cockpit canopy is clear to see as the pilot attempts to land the fighter Credit: SWNS
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Air India plane catches fire moments after landing as passengers are getting off
An Air India flight from Hong Kong to Delhi experienced an auxiliary power unit fire while passengers were disembarking at Indira Gandhi International Airport today An Air India aircraft caught fire shortly after landing at a major airport on Tuesday, but all passengers and crew members safely disembarked, the airline has said. Flight AI315, from Hong Kong to Delhi, experienced an auxiliary power unit (APU) fire shortly after landing and parking at the gate at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airline said the incident happened while passengers were disembarking, adding that the APU shut down automatically, as it is designed to do. The company said nobody was harmed, but there was "some damage" to the aircraft. The plane has now been grounded as an investigation is carried out, Air India said. The airline said in a statement shared on social media: "Flight AI315, operating from Hong Kong to Delhi on 22 July 2025, experienced an auxiliary power unit (APU) fire shortly after it had landed and parked at the gate. The incident occurred while passengers had begun disembarking, and the APU was automatically shut down as per system design. "There was some damage to the aircraft, however, passengers and crew members disembarked normally, and are safe. The aircraft has been grounded for further investigations and the regulator has been duly notified." An APU is a small engine found on aircraft that is used to generate electricity and compressed air for various systems, especially while the aircraft is on the ground. This allows the plane to be self-sufficient at airports, allowing it to reduce reliance on external power sources and main engine operation. Today's incident is the third near miss for Air India in 48 hours. On Monday, a flight from Kochi to Mumbai veered off the runway while landing, which damaged both the plane and the tarmac. Then in the evening, a flight from Delhi to Kolkata aborted take-off after a technical issue was detected while the aircraft was accelerating on the runway at 155kmph. It comes as investigations into last month's tragic Air India crash, which killed everyone onboard apart from one passenger, continue. A preliminary investigation report that came out earlier this month found that fuel control switches for the engines were moved from the "run" to the "cut-off" position moments before impact, starving both engines of fuel. The report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, also indicated that both pilots were confused over the change to the switch setting, which caused a loss of engine thrust shortly after take-off. The Air India flight - a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner - crashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the north-western city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, which is one of India's worst aviation disasters. According to the report, the flight lasted around 30 seconds between take-off and crash. It said that once the aircraft achieved its top recorded speed, "the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cut-off switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another" within a second. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cut-off position during the flight. The movement of the fuel control switches allows and cuts fuel flow to the plane's engines. The switches were flipped back into the run position, the report said, but the plane could not gain power quickly enough to stop its descent after the aircraft had begun to lose altitude. The report stated: "One of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY.'"
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Fuel switches were not faulty, says Air India, adding to pilot blame
Fuel switches were 'not at fault' for the crashed Air India flight, the airline said on Tuesday, adding to mounting evidence the pilots killed in the crash were to blame. Air India found no problems with the locking mechanism of the fuel control switch of all Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft in its fleet, the spokesman said. The captain of the crashed jet is likely to have cut off the fuel supply before it went down in Ahmedabad, US officials believe. The first officer, who was flying the Boeing 787-9, questioned why the captain had moved switches to the cut-off position, according to a US assessment of the black box data. He reportedly expressed surprise and panic while the captain remained calm, the Wall Street Journal reported. All but one of 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were killed when the aircraft plunged into a medical student hostel in a built-up suburb last month, less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. In response to the tragedy, India's aviation regulator ordered airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing jets after a preliminary report released by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found that switches controlling fuel flow to the jet's two engines were turned off, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust at take-off. The switches were moved in succession, one second apart, according to the report. Some 10 seconds later, the switches were turned back on. The report did not say whether the switches may have been turned off accidentally or deliberately. The findings explain why the jet's emergency-power generator, known as a ram air turbine, appeared to have been activated moments before it plummeted to the ground. While the initial report does not draw any conclusion, it has raised questions about the actions of Sumeet Sabharwal, the lead pilot, and Clive Kundar, the co-pilot, who had more than 19,000 hours of flying time between them. In the moments before the disaster, Captain Sabharwal, 56, issued a mayday call. However, after the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of barely 400ft above the runway all contact was lost. The plane then glided down towards the ground and crashed into an explosion of fire. The Telegraph previously revealed that Air India crash investigators were examining the medical records of Mr Sabharwal amid claims that he suffered from depression and mental health problems. Captain Sabharwal had been considering leaving the airline to look after his elderly father following the death of his mother in 2022. The crash was the first fatal accident involving Boeing's Dreamliner. However, the airline had already suffered reputational damage after a string of safety and quality problems. The Dreamliner, which entered service in 2011, is popular among commercial airlines and is commonly used on international long-haul routes.
