‘Bodies all around me': Air India crash survivor tells PM Modi what happened in 33 seconds of horror
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Friday to meet Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the only survivor of Thursday's fatal Air India crash. Ramesh was among the 242 individuals aboard AI flight 171, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, including those on the ground. Ramesh is currently being treated in the hospital's C7 ward, where 25 others injured in the crash are also admitted. Modi also interacted with the attending medical team during his visit.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survives as others perish
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, seated in 11A, survived the crash due to his proximity to an emergency exit, according to local police. The 40-year-old British national was flying back to the UK with his brother after a family visit to India. Speaking to the media from his hospital bed, he described the aftermath: '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.' It remains unclear whether he managed to escape before or after the aircraft made impact.
PM Modi visits crash site with officials
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister also visited the Air India crash site near Ahmedabad International Airport. He was accompanied by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, Gujarat State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, and senior officials. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed just 33 seconds after takeoff and collided with a medical college hostel, leading to significant casualties among both passengers and those on the ground.
Visited the crash site in Ahmedabad today. The scene of devastation is saddening. Met officials and teams working tirelessly in the aftermath. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable tragedy. pic.twitter.com/R7PPGGo6Lj
Casualties and ongoing investigation
The crash of Air India flight 171 led to the death of at least 260 people. Among the 242 onboard were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has launched a formal investigation into the incident. Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed that the probe is underway to determine the causes of one of the deadliest air crashes in India's recent aviation history.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
China-India relations maintain a hard-won momentum of improvement: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong held a new round of China-India Vice Foreign Minister-Foreign Secretary Dialogue with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Delhi, and met with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Sun Weidong stated that, with the concerted efforts of both sides, China-India relations maintain a hard-won momentum of improvement and development. Both sides should follow the important common understandings reached by the two leaders during the meeting in Kazan, view and handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height and long-term perspective, continuously increase political mutual trust, advance exchanges and cooperation in various areas together, properly handle disagreements and differences, push the bilateral relations forward on the track of sound and steady development, and jointly play a constructive role in maintaining international and regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, the statement said. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Amazing Moments Captured in Perfectly Timed Photos Read More Undo Sun Weidong and Vikram Misri on Thursday held a candid and in-depth exchange of views on bilateral exchanges and cooperation as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest, as per the statement. The Indian side reaffirmed its support for China's Shanghai Cooperation Organization presidency. The two sides agreed to jointly make preparations for the 24th Special Representatives' Meeting on China-India Boundary Question , which will be held at an appropriate time. Live Events The two sides will continue to hold commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, push for the resumption of direct flights and exchange of resident journalists at an early date, facilitate people-to-people exchanges, resume bilateral dialogue mechanisms steadily, and ensure Indian pilgrims' smooth visit to Mount Gang Rinpoche and Lake Mapam Yun Tso in the Xizang Autonomous Region of China, as per the statement. Sun Weidong expressed sympathy and condolences to the Indian side over the air crash accident in Gujarat, India on June 12.
India Today
29 minutes ago
- India Today
India, China agree to rebuild ties, expedite steps to resume direct air services
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has held talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong during which the two sides reviewed the developments in India-China bilateral relations and agreed to continue to "stabilise and rebuild ties" with a priority on people-centric engagements, the MEA said on meeting took place on Thursday and the two sides also agreed to expedite steps involved in resuming direct air services between the two held talks with Sun earlier on January 27 in Beijing. Sun is on a visit to India from June 12-13, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a the meeting on Thursday, "the two sides reviewed the developments in India-China bilateral relations since their last meeting in Beijing on January 27, 2025 and agreed to continue to stabilise and rebuild ties with priority on people-centric engagements", the MEA foreign secretary appreciated the Chinese side's cooperation for the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this noted the discussion in the April meeting of the Expert Level Mechanism for cooperation in trans-border rivers for the resumption of the provision of hydrological data and other cooperation, and hoped for progress on them, the MEA said."The two sides agreed to expedite steps involved in resuming direct air services between the two countries. Foreign Secretary hoped for the early conclusion of an updated Air Services Agreement," it and China further agreed to take "practical steps" for visa facilitation and exchanges between their media and think-tanks."The two sides positively assessed the activities planned under the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China and agreed to facilitate the same," the statement Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a readout on Friday on the meeting, according to which the Chinese vice foreign minister also met with National Security Advisor Ajit expressed sympathy and condolences to the Indian side over the air crash in Gujarat on June 12, the readout said."Sun Weidong stated that, with the concerted efforts of both sides, China-India relations maintain a hard-won momentum of improvement and development," it and Misri held a "candid and in-depth exchange" of views on bilateral exchanges and cooperation as well as on international and regional issues of mutual interest, the readout Watch IN THIS STORY#India-China
NDTV
36 minutes ago
- NDTV
Central Panel To Probe Ahmedabad Plane Crash, Submit Report In 3 Months
New Delhi: The government has constituted a high-level multi-disciplinary committee for examing the causes leading to the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport (London) on June 12, that left 241 people dead. "A High Level Multi-disciplinary Committee is constituted for examining the causes leading to the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport (London) on June 12, 2025. The Committee will examine the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines issued to prevent and handle such occurrences and suggest comprehensive guidelines for dealing with such instances in the future," an order issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry read. "The Committee will not be a substitute for other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations but will focus on formulating SOPs for preventing and handling such occurrences in the future," the order clarified. "The committee will have access to all records, including, among others, flight data, cockpit voice recorders, aircraft maintenance records, ATC Log and witness testimonies," it stated, adding that the committee will publish its report within three months. It said that the Committee will be headed by the Home Secretary and will include representatives from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Indian Air Force and Aviation experts. The committee will assess the emergency response of the various stakeholders, including rescue operations and coordination among them. It will also suggest policy changes, operational improvements and training enhancements required to prevent such occurrences and handle post-crash incident situations. Stating the objective of constituting the committee, the order said that it was formed to ascertain the root cause of the crash. It also said that the committee will recommend necessary improvements and formulate suitable SOPs to prevent such incidents in the future. These SOPs will also include international best practices regarding preventing and handling such incidents. The order issued at around 12:40 am on Saturday said that the committee will assess the emergency response of various stakeholders (both Central and State Governments), including rescue operations, and coordination among them. "The Committee will examine existing guidelines regarding handling such incidents. and go through records of previous such aircraft crashes in the country," it read. It also stated that it will also formulate a comprehensive SOP and suggest the roles of all agencies and organisations of the central and state governments to deal with post-crash incident handling and management. As per the order, the Committee will consist of Home Secretary and secretary or joint secretary of the home affairs ministry, secretary of Civil aviation, representative from the Gujarat home department, representative from the state disaster response authority, police commissioner of Ahmedabad, the Director General (DG), Inspection and Safety of the Indian Air Force, DG of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, DG of the aviation regulator- the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, special director of Intelligence Bureau (IB), Director of Directorate of Forensic Science Services. The order stated that the committee may also consist of any other member as deemed fit by the committee, including aviation experts, accident investigators and legal advisors may also be included by the committee. It will conduct site inspections, interview the crew, Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) and relevant personnel. The government said that the committee will collaborate with international agencies if foreign nationals or aircraft manufacturers are involved. The AI-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick had crashed shortly after it took off from the Ahmedabad International Airport on Thursday. The airline said only one out of the 242 people on board the aircraft survived the crash. The Tata group-owned airline has set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Those calling from outside India can call 91 8062779200. The Tata Group has announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each person who lost their lives in the crash.
