Recollecting the harrowing, near-death experience of the devastating aviation mishap on Thursday, Vishwaskumar Ramesh, the lone survivor of the Ahmedabad-London Air India flight AI-171 crash, said he 'doesn’t know how' he managed to escape.
Air India Plane Crash: 'Still Don't Know How I Escaped', Says Lone Survivor Vishwaskumar Ramesh
40-year-old Vishwaskumar Ramesh, a British citizen of Indian origin, was returning to the United Kingdom with his brother, 45-year-old Ajaykumar Ramesh. While Vishwaskumar Ramesh survived, his brother, Ajaykumar Ramesh, seated across the aisle, died.
"Everything happened in seconds. I realised we were going down. Everyone around me was either dead or dying. I still don’t understand how I escaped", he said in an interview with DD News on Friday from his bed at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
40-year-old Ramesh, a British citizen of Indian origin, was returning to the United Kingdom with his brother, 45-year-old Ajaykumar Ramesh after meeting his family in India. While Vishwaskumar survived, his brother, Ajaykumar, seated across the aisle, died. The two brothers were among 15 passengers from the Diu district on board the Air India flight.
Vishwaskumar Ramesh was the only fortunate passenger who got the window seat 11A. In his interview, he mentioned that the side of the aircraft he was on had sustained some damage, and he noticed a gap in the fuselage near him after the crash, which served as the only escape route for him.
"At first, I thought I was dead. Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage near my seat. I managed to unbuckle myself. I used my leg to push through that opening and crawled out", as per a Times of India report.
Viral video clips from the crash site in Ahmedabad showed him stumbling out of the burnt aircraft in bloodstained clothes while screaming in Gujarati, “Plane fatyo che!” (The plane exploded).
Earlier, his cousin Dhirendra Somabhai also said that Ramesh told him he jumped out through a door after the impact and blacked out shortly after, as per media reports.
Quoting a family friend, Ayub Mansuri, who drove the brothers to the airport that morning, TOI reported that Ramesh managed to make three brief phone calls after the crash before his phone went dead.
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"He kept crying and asking for Ajay. He has head injuries, burns, but somehow walked out of that wreckage", Mansuri told TOI.
Vishwash reportedly sustained impact injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet and is currently under treatment at Civil Hospital, Asarwa, in Ahmedabad.
Speaking to CNN, Dr Rajnish Patel, professor and head of surgery at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, said that Vishwash's condition was "not very critical" and he is expected to be discharged in the next few days.
“He has some blood in the images, but he’s not very badly injured. He is very comfortable and under strict observation, no issues,” Patel said.
The devastating aviation mishap shook the whole nation on Thursday when the London-bound Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed soon after takeoff from Gujarat's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
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While officials took time to release the exact casualty figures, it was well understood that the chances of having survivors were very slim, considering the intensity of the explosion and the blistering heat of the fuel as the flight caught fire while crashing.
The flight carrying 232 passengers and 12 crew members was en route to London Gatwick Airport. As per reports, the plane was being flown by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar.
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