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The Independent
11 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Family of Air India crash survivor has flight cancelled
The family of Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, reports a lack of support from the UK and Indian governments. Fourteen family members have been unable to board a flight to Ahmedabad after their initial flight was cancelled and other airlines allegedly ignored their pleas. Hiren Kantilal, Ramesh's cousin, expressed the family's heartbreak and disappointment at the lack of governmental assistance with flight arrangements. The family is also grieving the death of Vishwash's brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, in the same Air India crash. Watch the video in full above.
Malay Mail
13 hours ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Joy and grief for lone Air India crash survivor as miracle escape contrasts with loss of brother
LEICESTER, June 14 — The UK-based family of the lone survivor of the Air India crash were torn yesterday between joy at his miracle escape and grief at the loss of his brother. 'We are happy Vishwash has been saved, but on the other hand, we are just heartbroken about Ajay,' his cousin told AFP outside the family home in central Leicester. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, is believed to be the only person to have survived the crash when Air India Flight 171 plummeted from the sky shortly after taking off from the northern Indian city of Ahmedabad. His brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, was on the same flight, but is believed to have perished in the disaster. There were 242 passengers and crew on the plane, including 53 British citizens. At least 24 people were killed on the ground, officials said, after the aeroplane landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch. Members of local community stand outside family home of Ramesh Viswashkumar, a British survivor of the London-bound Air India aircraft crash near Ahmedabad Airport in India, in Leicester June 12, 2025. — Reuters pic Since Thursday's tragedy, the small Leicester street where Ramesh's parents and younger brother lived has been flooded with visitors. Ramesh lives not far away with his wife and son, his cousin Hiren Kantilal, 19, told AFP. Ajay also lived in the town, one of the oldest in England, and the two brothers ran a confectionary business together. 'They are wonderful people, and heartful people. They are greatest men I have ever seen in my life, both of them,' said Kantilal. The brothers were returning to the UK after spending a few weeks on holiday in India, and the family had been waiting to go and pick them up at Gatwick airport. Hiren Kantilal, cousin of Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, gives an interview to an AFP journalist in the street outside the family home of Vishwash, the sole survivor of an Air India crash in Ahmedabad City in India, in Leicester June 13, 2025. — AFP pic 'I am totally fine' Shortly after the crash, they were shocked when Ramesh, who had reportedly been in seat 11A, called his father to say he was alive. Ajay was seated at the other end of the row. 'Our plane has been crashed,' Ramesh told his dad, according to his cousin. 'He was bleeding all over him, in the face and everything, and he said: 'I am just waiting for my brother and I don't know how I get out of the plane'. 'He said: 'do not worry about me, try to find about Ajay Kumar' and he said: 'I am totally fine'.' Kantilal said his cousin had waited for about 10 to 15 minutes seeking his brother, and then was whisked away to hospital by the rescue services. Images which went viral on social media apparently showed Ramesh walking away from the wreckage of the 787-8 Boeing Dreamliner, and have been splashed across the front pages of British media along with a photo of him in his hospital bed. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Ramesh yesterday at the hospital where he is being treated for burns and other injuries, footage on his YouTube channel showed. 'Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn't believe how I managed to come out alive from that,' Ramesh said from his hospital bed, speaking in Hindi to national broadcaster DD News. His parents had also been desperately trying to contact his brother Ajay on Thursday. 'The call was going through, but no-one was answering the call,' Kantilal said. At the family home, relatives were frantically scanning their phones to try to buy a flight to Ahmedabad later yesterday afternoon. Downing Street said that the foreign ministry had been in touch with Ramesh to offer him consular assistance. — AFP
News.com.au
a day ago
- General
- News.com.au
Joy and grief for lone India crash survivor's family
The UK-based family of the lone survivor of the Air India crash were torn on Friday between joy at his miracle escape and grief at the loss of his brother. "We are happy Vishwash has been saved, but on the other hand we are just heartbroken about Ajay," his cousin told AFP outside the family home in central Leicester. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, is believed to be the only person to have survived the crash when Air India Flight 171 plummeted from the sky shortly after taking off from the northern Indian city of Ahmedabad. His brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, was on the same flight, but is believed to have perished in the disaster. There were 242 passengers and crew on the plane, including 53 British citizens. At least 24 people were killed on the ground, officials said, after the aeroplane landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch. Since Thursday's tragedy, the small Leicester street where Ramesh's parents and younger brother lived has been flooded with visitors. Ramesh lives not far away with his wife and son, his cousin Hiren Kantilal, 19, told AFP. Ajay also lived in the town, one of the oldest in England, and the two brothers ran a confectionary business together. "They are wonderful people, and heartful people. They are greatest men I have ever seen in my life, both of them," said Kantilal. The brothers were returning to the UK after spending a few weeks on holiday in India, and the family had been waiting to go and pick them up at Gatwick airport. - 'I am totally fine' - Shortly after the crash, they were shocked when Ramesh, who had reportedly been in seat 11A, called his father to say he was alive. Ajay was seated at the other end of the row. "Our plane has been crashed," Ramesh told his dad, according to his cousin. "He was bleeding all over him, in the face and everything, and he said: 'I am just waiting for my brother and I don't know how I get out of the plane'. "He said: 'do not worry about me, try to find about Ajay Kumar' and he said: 'I am totally fine'." Kantilal said his cousin had waited for about 10 to 15 minutes seeking his brother, and then was whisked away to hospital by the rescue services. Images which went viral on social media apparently showed Ramesh walking away from the wreckage of the 787-8 Boeing Dreamliner, and have been splashed across the front pages of British media along with a photo of him in his hospital bed. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Ramesh on Friday at the hospital where he is being treated for burns and other injuries, footage on his YouTube channel showed. "Everything happened in front of me, and even I couldn't believe how I managed to come out alive from that," Ramesh said from his hospital bed, speaking in Hindi to national broadcaster DD News. His parents had also been desperately trying to contact his brother Ajay on Thursday. "The call was going through, but no-one was answering the call," Kantilal said. At the family home, relatives were frantically scanning their phones to try to buy a flight to Ahmedabad later on Friday afternoon. Downing Street said that the foreign ministry had been in touch with Ramesh to offer him consular assistance. mhc/alm/jkb/bc
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
‘All our community are sad': shock and solace as British Gujaratis come together after Air India crash
'We started in a terrace house back in 1971, when all the Asians were expelled from Uganda – we got bigger and bigger, and now we are many,' Dhiren Kanabar said of the Shree Hindu temple and community centre in Leicester, where he works. The building at St Barnabas Road is testament to the growth and resilience of the city's Gujarati community, who collected money, in their earliest days in the UK, to move from a makeshift place of worship – a family home in Cromford Street – to one of the first purpose-built Hindu temples in the UK. On Friday, the day after the tragedy of Air India flight 171, in which a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, in the Gujarat region of India, killing at least 265 people, sorrow descended on the temple. People came to light candles, find out how they could help, and take comfort in the speaker's message of common universal humanity. In this close-knit, British Gujarati community, everybody knows somebody affected. Relatives of Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, the sole survivor, are active members. One of Vishwash's brothers, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, is presumed dead. 'People, whenever they have time, in the evenings, and especially weekends, get together in prayer to the gods and goddesses,' Kanabar said. 'But today, we are in mourning. It's really tragic, really shocking.' All over the UK, meetings of British Indians, Hindus, Gujaratis and their friends and neighbours have become impromptu vigils for the dead. In the North Evington district of Leicester, well-wishers clustered in the doorways of terraces, anxious for news about Vishwash and Ajay. In this vibrant neighbourhood, crying could be heard from one house on Friday. Dozens of people stood quietly outside the property, which belongs to relatives of the brothers. Early in the afternoon, an inconsolable woman emerged, flanked by about a dozen other women, and was helped into a van – thought to be bound for an airport, then on to India. There are about 800,000 British Gujaratis in the UK, many living in London, Lancashire and the East Midlands, including Hindus, Muslims, Jains and Christians. As speculation spread across communities, and news trickled out through news sites, broadcasters and social media, the National Council for Gujarati Organisations UK became a go-between for people who feared their loved ones were on the flight and authorities in Britain and India. The organisation's vice-president, Krishna Pujara, regularly travels on the London Gatwick to Gujarat route, returning home from a visit to the region just last week. When news of the crash broke, she was deluged with calls from people who feared she was on the plane, as well as from those needing support, emergency visas and information. The meeting Pujara holds every Friday in Enfield, north London, with members of the women's charity Enfield Saheli, which she runs, this week became a place for women from the Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi and Muslim communities to come together in solidarity. They meditated before singing in prayer around tables lit with candles. 'It's not only about Gujaratis, we are a community that is united within the wider community,' Pujara said. Onboard the flight was Vijay Rupani, a former chief minister of Gujarat. Pujara said she was due to attend a Father's Day and religious celebration for him on Sunday, which has now been cancelled; his relatives have gone to India after obtaining emergency visas. 'We are a sisterhood here of all different community groups,' Pujara said. 'When tragedy strikes everybody gets together.' One member of the group, Manu Mistry, 78, said: ''We feel very sorry about that plane crash, people who died, those who lost their loved ones. All our community, all our children, all our grandchildren, we are all sad. It's horrible.' Another, Mayadevi Shah, said her husband regularly travelled to his home town of Ahmedabad with Air India. After news of the tragedy, it was decided he no longer would. 'He's not going with this flight any more,' said Shah, adding he had returned as recently as last month. 'Luckily, we don't travel this month.' Shah was among the women chanting in prayer for the victims and their families at the Saheli meeting. The previous day, she had been shocked to learn that a friend had lost her son, who was returning from India after visiting relatives. 'We read the name then we realised,' Shah said. 'The news came and we were shocked. May their souls rest in peace and God give strength to them and their families. Om, Shanti, Shanti.'
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Air India crash survivor's family have received ‘no support' in desperate bid to see relative
The family of Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, claim they have received 'no support' from the governments of the UK or India as they try to fly out to see their relative 'as soon as possible'. Hiren Kantilal, Ramesh's cousin, revealed that 14 family members have so far been unsuccessful in their attempts to board a plane to Ahmedabad, after their flight out on Friday morning (June 13) was cancelled and other airlines have 'ignored' their pleas. Speaking outside his Leicestershire home, Kantilal said: 'We haven't got any support from the Indian or UK governments at all. We are heartbroken that this happened to us and they're not helping us with flight tickets.' He also added that the family is 'totally heartbroken' over the death of Vishwash's brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh.
