Only surviving Air India passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh says plane felt 'stuck' as he reveals how he escaped burning wreckage
The only survivor of the Air India crash has described how the plane felt "stuck" seconds after takeoff before it struck a medical college hostel and exploded in a fireball.
Speaking from his hospital bed hours after one of worst aviation disasters claimed at least 290 lives, including his brother's, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said they had been in the air for five to ten seconds when something did not feel right.
"It felt like the plane was stuck. It felt like something had happened," he told local Indian media, adding a green and white light then turned on in the cabin.
"The pilot was trying to give it a bit of a push it forward but it was struggling."
Mr Ramesh's survival has been labelled a miracle.
He was one of 242 passengers and crew who boarded the plane in Ahmedabad bound for London. But he would be the only one to climb out of the wreckage alive.
"Everything happened in front of my eyes. I still can't believe myself how I came out alive. For a little while I thought I was going to die," the 40-year-old father said.
"But when I opened my eyes I realised I was alive. So I tried to escape. I pulled out the belt from under my seat and tried to escape (but couldn't). Then I managed to do it.
"I saw others and the air hostess in front of me who couldn't escape."
Mr Ramesh was seated in 11A, according to his boarding ticket, an emergency exit row behind business class, which is towards the front of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
According to local police, he survived by jumping from the plane. It was not clear on Friday if Mr Ramesh managed to jump out before the plane made impact.
But the British national elaborated further about his escape, saying his side of the plane had crash landed on the ground floor of the medical hostel.
"I don't know about the other side but it was open on this side," Mr Ramesh recalled.
"As soon as the door broke, I could see that it was open for me and I had a chance to get out. Then I managed to get out. But the opposite side (of the plane), the wall of the building would have blocked people and nobody would have been able to get out.
"It was really only on my side where there was space to get out."
Mr Ramesh suffered burns to his hands and bruising to other parts of his body. A local doctor said he is "out of danger". He could be discharged from hospital in coming days.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mr Ramesh at hospital where the pair discussed what had happened and the survivor's health.
The leader was also taken to the crash site in the state of Gujarat to survey the damage.
The plane's black box containing the flight data recorded has been recovered. But the other one, which records the cockpit conversations, has not been located.
Both black boxes will be crucial for investigators to determine what happened.
In the meantime, Air India has been ordered by the country's aviation regulator to carry out further "maintenance actions" across its fleet of Boeing 787-8/9s after the crash.
The United States' National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to help India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
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