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Air India Crash: 1 Briton survives, over 200 killed in Ahmedabad-London AI-171 plane crash

Air India Crash: 1 Briton survives, over 200 killed in Ahmedabad-London AI-171 plane crash

Time of Indiaa day ago

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In a miraculous escape, a British national survived the horrific plane crash in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The survivor of the ill-fated Air India AI-171 flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner , has been identified as 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh The crash of the flight, which was en route to Gatwick Airport in London from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, in the afternoon of June 12 resulted in the death of over 200 people with Indian authorities fearing the toll may go up.Ramesh was in seat 11A and travelling to London along with his brother whose fate is unknown. The passenger manifest also shows Ramesh was allotted 11A.Videos shared by eyewitnesses showed Ramesh walking off on his own from the crash site although he had suffered visible injuries to his face. He was admitted to the Ahmedabad civil hospital. A doctor working in the trauma ward of the Ahmedabad civil hospital told Indian news agency PTI that Ramesh is undergoing treatment in the hospital.He was one of the 53 Britons in the flight which had a total of 242 people on board - 230 passengers and 12 crew members. According to the flight manifest there were 169 Indians, seven Portuguese and one Canadian along with the British citizens in the flight. Eleven passengers were children. All the 12 crew members were Indians.Rescue workers have recovered over 200 bodies from the crash site, according to the police said. However, it is not yet clear how many of the bodies belonged to those in the aircraft as the plane hit a doctors' hostel before bursting into a ball of fire.Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik stated some people on the ground could have died as a result of the crash and the resultant fire.CCTV footage of the airport runway and videos shot on mobile by eyewitnesses showed the Dreamliner struggling to gain height after take-off. Just a few seconds after getting air borne, the plane started to lose height and crashed into the ground and the hostel.There was a loud explosion and the plane turned into an inferno.

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