Fact Check: No evidence sole survivor was arrested 48 hours after Air India crash
There is no evidence that the sole survivor of the Air India crash that killed 260 people in June, Viswashkumar Ramesh, was arrested by police shortly after the incident, contrary to posts shared on social media.
The London-bound plane crashed shortly after take off in Ahmedabad, western India, on June 12. Ramesh was in seat 11A, positioned close to the emergency exit, and said he managed to walk out of the plane after the crash.
The crash killed 241 of the 242 people on board and more people on the ground when the 787-8 Dreamliner hit a medical college hostel.
A video posted on TikTok, opens new tab on June 18 said that Ramesh was arrested by police less than 48 hours after the crash and was held in a detention centre in Ahmedabad.
In another video, a man asked, opens new tab, 'Do you reckon he was in for a quick bit of money?' The video gathered more than 140,000 views.
There is no evidence that Ramesh was arrested, however. Neither India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), opens new tab, the body leading the investigation into the crash, nor India's Ministry of Civil Aviation, opens new tab released any statement accusing Ramesh of involvement.
Ahmedabad Police commonly post statements through X,, opens new tab but have yet to mention any arrests linked to the crash.
The earliest iteration Reuters found of the claim stems from a now-deleted TikTok video, opens new tab posted on June 14. The account's description, opens new tab reads, 'EVERYTHING IS FAKE!'
Ramesh attended his brother's funeral on June 18 and carried his coffin. His brother, Ajay Ramesh, was one of the victims of the crash.
Spokespeople for India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ahmedabad Police did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Ministry of Civil Aviation directed Reuters to press statements published by the ministry in response to a request for comment.
Attempted requests for comment sent to Ramesh's family went unanswered.
No evidence. There is no evidence that Viswashkumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash on June 12 that killed over 240 people on board, was arrested 48 hours after the incident. The earliest iteration Reuters found of the claim stems from an account with a description that says everything posted is fake.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
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