Lone Brit survivor of Air India disaster says he'll be racked with guilt for life after missed chance to move bro's seat

Scottish Sun

7 hours ago

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PLANE crash survivor Vishwash Ramesh poses for The Sun as he appears in public for the first time since his incredible escape and declared: 'It's a miracle.'
Vishwash, 40, was happy to show how he is recovering from the Air India disaster which killed 279 people.
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Vishwash Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, poses for the first time since the disaster
Credit: Dan Charity
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The Sun meet Vishwash at his family home in the coastal village of Diu
Credit: Dan Charity
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Vishwash is overcome by emotion during the funeral for his brother, Ajay, who died on the Boeing 787
Credit: Dan Charity
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Vishwash, left, and his brother Ajaykumar Ramesh, 35, had been in India on a business trip
But he revealed he is racked with guilt over the death of his brother Ajay on the flight.
He had tried to arrange two seats next to each other in row 11 by the emergency exits.
By the time he came to choose seats other passengers were sitting in part of the row so the brothers had to sit separately.
Vishwash – in Seat 11A – survived the crash and was able to crawl through a hole in the twisted fuselage of the downed Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
But Ajay was on the other side of the aisle in 11J and died along with 240 other passengers and crew.
Married dad-of-one Vishwash is now struggling with survivors' guilt and said: 'If we had been sat together we both might have survived.
'I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one. Me and Ajay would have been sitting together.
'But I lost my brother in front of my eyes. So now I am constantly thinking 'Why can't I save my brother?'
'It's a miracle I survived. I am okay physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay.'
Overcome with emotion he told friends: 'I wish I was not alive.'
Moment miracle Brit survivor of Air India disaster heads BACK to burning wreck to save brother saying 'I have to save him'
Vishwash is recovering in his family's home village of Diu, on the east coast of India, where he ran a two-boat fishing business with brother Ajay after inheriting it from their dad.
The fishing industry grinds to a halt when the monsoon season starts in June so Vishwash and Ajay were returning to England.
Vishwash was looking forward to being reunited with his wife Hiral and their four-year-old son at their home in Leicester when he and Ajay boarded flight AI 171 around 1pm last Thursday and buckled themselves into their seats on row 11.
But moments after take-off he knew there was a problem.
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A crew prepares to remove parts of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Credit: AP
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Emergency crews work to put out fires at the smouldering crash site
Credit: EPA
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The rear of the jet lies wedged on top of a building
Credit: AFP
He said: 'It felt like something got stuck and the lights started flickering.
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'Everything happened in seconds. I realised we were going down.'
The pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 55, frantically radioed air traffic control to yell: 'No thrust… May Day…May Day.'
Vishwash went on: 'The aircraft wasn't gaining altitude and was just gliding.
'After that, the plane seemed to speed up, before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.
"Everything was visible in front of my eyes when the crash happened.
"I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive.'
He unbuckled his seat belt and with everyone around him dead or dying he managed to crawl through an opening in the mangled fuselage.
He added: 'Where I landed was closer to the ground and there was space too - and when my door broke - I saw that there was space. I saw an opening. I used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out.
'Everyone around me was either dead or dying. I still don't understand how I escaped."
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Vishwash, known for being hospitable, greets The Sun's Robin Perrie on his veranda
Credit: Dan Charity
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Crowds gather for Ajay Ramesh's funeral on Wednesday
Credit: Dan Charity
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Vishwash arrived back at his family home on Tuesday and has been instructed to rest up
Credit: Dan Charity
He staggered out of the compound of a medical college as a huge fireball engulfed a hostel where 100 students and staff were having lunch in a canteen.
Stunned locals and rescuers spotted him as he bravely tried to go back into the raging inferno to look for Ajay before paramedics led him to an ambulance.
He was rushed to the Civil Hospital less than a mile away where he spent five days recovering during which time he was visited by Indian Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Doctors discharged him on Tuesday and he returned to the family home where his parents Bava and Manibhai are now supporting him along with his wife and child and younger brother Nayan, after flying in from their homes in Leicester.
Friends and neighbours in Diu have also been celebrating his incredible escape – but are also grieving.
As well as Ajay, another 14 people from the tiny island, a former Portuguese colony, died on the flight.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra modi visits Vishwash in hospital the day after the crash
Credit: Unpixs
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Vishwas was filmed staggering away from the crash site as the wreckage blazed away
Credit: Twitter
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The seating plan of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner shows the seat 11A near the emergency exit - while Ajay was in 11J
Vishwash's childhood friend Bipin Bamania, 52, said: 'He is getting great support from his family and they are obviously delighted he is alive.
'But they are all heartbroken as well over the loss of Ajay.
'I spoke to Vishwash after the crash and he said that he was in pain and needed to rest but he was basically okay.
'I am very happy that he survived but also very sad that his brother died.
'Vishwash spends part of the year here and part of it in England.
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Sacred Cows walk past Vishwas Ramesh family home after his arrival
Credit: Dan Charity
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Ajay's funeral was a tragic occasion for the whole family
Credit: Dan Charity
'He runs two fishing boats with his family but the fishing stops when the monsoon comes.
'So then he goes back to England.
'Vishwas is a very good person. He gets along with everyone very well.
'He has no animosity with anyone and when he is here in the village he likes to hang out with his friends.
'He is a great family man, too. He loves his wife and child very much.
'When his son was born he was delighted. During the months he is here in India he rings them twice a day every single day.
'That has always been his routine.'
The grim process of identifying victims through DNA and dental records was continuing yesterday with 202now positively identified.
A total of 157 bodies have been handed to families for funerals.