Passenger on seat 11A survives crash
Ahmedabad: The horrific plane crash in Ahmedabad that had apparently left no survivors, has sprung a surprise. Within hours of their "No survivor" statement, the Ahmedabad police confirmed that one person has survived the crash. "The police found one survivor in seat 11A. One survivor is in the hospital and is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet," Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said.
The passenger, who was on seat 11A, was seen walking around -- his white tee shirt and dark trousers barely scorched.
The survivor is the 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh lying on a bed in the general ward of the Civil Hospital here. Vishwash said he was a British national and was in India for a few days to visit his family and was going back to the UK along with his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh.
'Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,' said Vishwash, who received 'impact injuries' on his chest, eyes and feet.
Vishwash, who still had his boarding pass, said, '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.'
Vishwash said he had lived in London for 20 years, adding that his wife and child too live in London. He said that his brother Ajay was seated in a different row on the plane. 'We visited Diu. He was travelling with me and I can't find him anymore. Please help me find him,' he said.
Elsewhere in the hospital, family and friends of passengers on board the Air India plane looked for their kin. Among them were family members of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, who also was on that flight. Sailesh Mandliya, who earlier assisted Rupani, was at the hospital looking for the former chief minister. 'We are looking for him. If you find out something, let me know,' Mandliya said.
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