‘I Don't Know How I Survived:' Air India Crash Passenger Speaks From Hospital
The sole survivor of an Air India Boeing plane crash recalls what happened after the crash and how he escaped the wreckage.
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Sole survivor of Air India crash lays his brother to rest after leaving hospital
Leaving hospital with wounds still fresh, the sole survivor of last week's Air India plane crash solemnly carried the coffin of his brother, performing the last rites for a life lost in the deadly disaster. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, appeared overcome with grief as he led the funeral procession through the streets of the western Indian coastal town of Diu on Wednesday. Ramesh, who was discharged from hospital a day prior, had bandages on his face from cuts and bruises sustained after flight AI171 traveling to London's Gatwick Airport from the western city of Ahmedabad plunged to the ground seconds after takeoff last Thursday, killing 241 people on board. How Ramesh escaped with a few wounds is being described as nothing short of a miracle. 'I don't know how I survived,' he told Indian state broadcaster DD News while in the hospital, explaining how he unbuckled himself from his seat in 11A – an emergency exit seat – shortly after the crash and walked away from the scene. 'For some time, I thought I was going to die. But when I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,' he said. He and his brother, who had been sitting a few rows away, had been returning to the UK after spending a few weeks visiting family in India. Video of Ramesh stumbling from the crash has been viewed widely on news channels and across social media. Flames can be seen billowing behind him, with thick plumes of smoke rising high into the sky. Authorities tasked with identifying the victims' bodies have described just how difficult that process has been. High temperatures from the burning fuel left 'no chance' to rescue passengers, India's Home Minister Amit Shah said, making bodies difficult to recognize. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was carrying 125,000 liters – enough to last a 10-hour flight from Ahmedabad to London – but it crashed less than a minute after takeoff, plunging into a hostel for medical students, killing several on the ground. As of Thursday, more than 150 bodies have been handed over to loved ones, according to health officials, with funerals taking place in various cities across the country. Investigators, meanwhile, are looking at the wreckage to determine what could have caused one of the worst air crashes India has seen in decades. A mayday call from the cockpit was made to air traffic control shortly before the crash, Indian civil aviation authorities said. Both black boxes, the plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, are now being analyzed for valuable clues that could help determine the cause. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are leading the probe into the crash with assistance from the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as officials from Boeing. The Indian government has also set up a separate high-level committee to examine what led to the crash. The committee is expected to file their preliminary findings within three months. Air India – the country's flagship carrier – said on Wednesday it is conducting safety inspections across all of its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet. 'Out of total 33 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days,' it said in a statement on X. Meanwhile, it has reduced international services on its widebody aircraft by 15% due to the ongoing inspections and the conflict in the Middle East, it added. For days, families of victims have gathered near morgues awaiting to collect the bodies of their loved ones and searching for answers. As Ramesh laid his brother to rest Wednesday, another family around 160 miles south in the city of Mumbai, performed burials for four members killed in the crash. Imtiaz Ali Syed, 42, whose brother Javed, sister-in-law, nephew and niece were on board the Air India flight, said he received their bodies from authorities in Ahmedabad and brought them to the family's hometown on Wednesday. Javed and his family, who lived in London, were in Mumbai to visit his sick mother and celebrate Eid al-Adha, also known as Bakri Eid, Syed told CNN. It was the first time in 15 years that Syed and his three other siblings were all together, he said. Syed's sister, who also lives in the UK, took a direct flight from Mumbai to London, he said. But Javed and his family were on a different flight via Ahmedabad. He described his disbelief when he learned that Javed was on the ill-fated Air India plane. 'Someone woke me up and said a plane crashed in Ahmedabad and asked me to check what flight Javed was on,' Syed recalled. Syed fondly described his brother as someone who was 'always available' for their family. 'He looked after my grandmother's medicines, he looked after my mother, he would take care of our sister,' he said, describing the unbearable pain of losing Javed. 'Within a week or fifteen days, or a month, maybe he will call,' Syed said. 'Telling me he is somewhere.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Is seat 11A the safest on a plane? Experts weigh in after Air India tragedy
The miraculous survival of a passenger who escaped moments after his Air India flight crashed, killing all others on board, has sparked debate over whether his seat, 11A, is the safest on a plane. However, aviation experts say that determining the safest seat is not so simple, as aircraft configurations vary significantly and survival usually depends on a complex combination of factors. "Each accident is different, and it is impossible to predict survivability based on seat location," Mitchell Fox, a director at the Flight Safety Foundation, a US-based nonprofit, said. Ramesh Viswash Kumar, who was seated in 11A, recounted how his proximity to an emergency exit on the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed on Thursday allowed him to walk to safety. Sitting next to an exit door may increase a person's chances of survival in a crash. However, experts say that the specific seat number, such as 11A, is not universally the safest, as aircraft can have numerous different layouts. 'In this particular instance, because the passenger was sitting adjacent to the emergency exit, this was obviously the safest seat on the day,' Ron Bartsch, chairman at Sydney-based AvLaw Aviation Consulting, said. "But it's not always 11A, it's just 11A on this configuration of the Boeing 787." A Popular Mechanics study of crashes since 1971, published in 2007, found that passengers seated towards the back of the plane had better survival odds. Some experts also suggest the wing section offers more stability. Sitting next to an exit door, like Mr Kumar, gives you an opportunity to be one of the first out of the plane, although some exits do not function after a crash. The opposite side of the plane was blocked by the wall of a building it crashed into, he said. In January 2024, a panel missing several bolts blew off the side of a Boeing 737 MAX mid-flight, creating a gaping hole and damaging the adjacent seat. Fortunately, no one was seated there at the time, and the incident resulted in no fatalities. Sitting by the aisle might offer you a speedier escape but it increases the likelihood of being hit in the head by luggage falling out of the overhead bins, which is a much more common occurrence than major crashes. Paying attention to the safety briefing at the start of your flight – often dismissed as routine – is likely the best way to improve your chances of survival, experts say. Disciplined compliance with cabin crew evacuation advice, including leaving bags behind, was a key factor in saving the lives of all 379 passengers and crew aboard a Japan Airlines flight in January 2024. The Airbus A350 aircraft had collided with a Coast Guard plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, killing five of the six crew members on the smaller aircraft. Safety briefings typically cover critical instructions such as how to fasten your seatbelt securely, adopt the correct brace position and plan your evacuation route. A common tip is to count the number of rows between your seat and the nearest exit - vital knowledge if the cabin fills with smoke and visibility is low. Despite disasters such as the Air India crash, plane designs have evolved to increase the likelihood of passengers walking away from a rare plane accident, Mr Fox said. These include floor path lighting, fire detection and extinguishers, less flammable cabin materials and improved access to emergency exits. "There have been remarkable advancements in airplane cabin design that have improved the survivability of accidents on or near the ground," Mr Fox said.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
British survivor of Air India crash seen carrying brother's casket at funeral
The British survivor of the Air India plane crash attended the cremation of his brother, who was also on the ill-fated flight, in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old businessman from Leicester, was returning to London on flight AI171 last week when it crashed into a medical college building shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport in the western state of Gujarat. His brother, Ajay, was one of the 241 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane who died in the disaster. Mr Ramesh miraculously survived with relatively minor injuries after jumping out of an emergency exit next to his seat 11A. Mr Ramesh was discharged from hospital on Tuesday evening, while his brother's remains were handed over to the family in the early hours of Wednesday following a DNA confirmation of his identity. #WATCH | Diu | Lone survivor of AI-171 flight crash, Vishwas Ramesh Kumar, mourns the death of his brother Ajay Ramesh, who was travelling on the same flightVishwas Ramesh Kumar is a native of Diu and is settled in the UK. — ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2025 "Vishwas's family has already arrived here from the United Kingdom. Following his recovery, we gave discharge to Vishwas at 7.30pm on Tuesday and his brother's mortal remains were handed over to the family after a DNA match," said Dr Rakesh Joshi, medical superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. In a social media video, Mr Ramesh can be seen helping carry his brother's coffin to a cremation ground in the union territory of Daman and Diu, about 354km east of Ahmedabad. The brothers were returning to the UK on the Air India flight after spending time with their family in Diu town. He told the Hindustan Times that his brother had been seated in a different row. After the crash, a video showed Mr Ramesh walking out of the plane's wreckage with minor cuts to his face and shoulder. 'Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,' he told local media. 'When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.' Mr Ramesh has a wife and son in the UK. Outside the family home in Leicester, his other brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, said: 'We're all devastated and in a state of shock at the moment. Even though one of my brothers survived, my other one is missing." Describing his deceased brother, he added: 'We would do everything together and go everywhere together. There are no words that can describe him as a human being. He's one of the nicest guys ever. You can ask anyone and they would all say the same thing.'
