What happened just before Air India crash? Lone survivor Viswashkumar Ramesh describes final moments
Viswashkumar Ramesh is the only survivor of the tragic Ahmedabad-London Air India plane crash. Speaking from his hospital bed, the 40-year-old British citizen of Indian origin told DD News that he did not have any idea how he had survived.
According to Viswashkumar, the plane didn't feel like it was gaining height and felt more like it was gliding. Then, within seconds, it crashed into a building and exploded.
Viswashkumar, who was seated at 11A, noticed a gap near his seat after the crash. He unbuckled himself, used his leg to push through the opening and crawled out. Everyone else around him was dead or dying.
'I can't believe how I escaped alive!' wondered Viswashkumar.
His brother, Ajaykumar, seated on the opposite side in 11J, sadly died. According to experts, Ramesh's section of the aircraft had less damage from the blast. It gave him the only possible escape route. His survival is truly a miracle.
Viswashkumar reportedly kept asking for his brother from his hospital bed. Despite head injuries and burns, he made three calls after the crash before his phone died.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier visited the lone survivor and briefly spoke with him.
Ayub Mansuri, who drove the brothers to the airport, said their father called him from London after the Air India plane crash.
"I spoke to Viswash three times after the crash. Then his phone went dead. I hired an auto to get through roadblocks around the hospital. Viswash had head injuries and bruises," The Times of India quoted the family friend as saying.
The Air India plane crashed into BJ Medical College during lunchtime. Around 60 junior doctors were having their meal when it happened. All of them were killed in the accident.
Meanwhile, not everyone was impressed that Viswashkumar Ramesh had to give an interview at the time of his recovery, both physical and emotional.
'This is so insensitive. What is the hurry to interview a traumatised person?' wondered one user on X (formerly Twitter).
'What is the requirement for this? Questions should be asked to the government and airline and not the survivor. Shameless,' wrote another.
Another user wrote, 'It's not even a day since the tragedy and you are shoving the mic in his face. Please have some sensitivity and empathy. That man has survived a major accident and could be in trauma.'
'No shame? Couldn't let him heal first,' reacted another.
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