Air India plane crash: Sole survivor's first words to father revealed

Extra.ie​

a day ago

The sole survivor of the Air India crash has spoken to his father, as the death toll from the horrific crash has risen.
Vishwashkumar Ramesh, 40, was returning from India with his brother Ajay when the flight, bound for London Gatwick, crashed into a building shortly after takeoff. Mr Ramesh miraculously survived the crash, while his brother is feared dead.
Mr Ramesh, a British national, walked away from the crash with the aid of locals before being rushed to hospital to be treated for impact injuries, with his other brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh said that he video called their father to tell him what happened. The sole survivor of the Air India crash has spoken to his father, as the death toll from the horrific crash has risen. Pic: Narendra Modi Youtube Channel/AFP via Getty Images
'He video called my dad as he crashed and said 'oh the plane's crashed. I don't know where my brother is,'' Nayan told Sky News. '[He said] 'I don't see any other passengers. I don't know how I'm alive, how I exited the plane.''
Mr Ramesh also heartbreakingly begged authorities to find his younger brother, telling people from his hospital bed 'find Ajay. You must find Ajay.'
His cousin Ajay Valgi also gave an update on his condition, telling the BBC 'He only said that he's fine, nothing else. [We are] happy that he's OK, but we're still upset about the other brother.' 279 people have been confirmed dead following the Air India flight AI171 that crashed in Ahmedabad. Pic: EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock
Speaking on his other cousin's death, Mr Valgi said 'I'm feeling absolutely upset. He's not just my cousin, he's also one of my best friends as well. They were sitting next to eachother, but we don't know what happened to [Ajay Kumar]. We're not doing well. We're all upset.'
The crash's death toll has since risen to 279 in both passengers aboard the plane and those who were in a medical college residence that the plane crashed into.
Speaking after the crash, Mr Ramesh said that he saw people burning in front of him as he managed to jump from the plane in his escape. Mr Ramesh, a British national, was the sole survivor of the crash, while his brother tragically died. Pic: Narendra Modi Youtube Channel/AFP via Getty Images
'When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air,' Mr Ramesh told the Hindustan Times. 'Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there.'
Thanks to his emergency exit seat, Mr Ramesh miraculously managed to get out of the plane and escape with impact injuries, with him later being hospitalised. However, he spoke about the things he saw while leaving the plane.
'When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out. I tried, and I did. Maybe the people who were on the other side of the plane weren't able to,' Mr Ramesh said. 'I don't know how I survived.
'I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me … I walked out of the rubble.'