'I can't believe I am alive,' recounts lone survivor of Air India crash in emotional meeting with PM
- Last updated: June 13, 2025 | 18:16
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the devastating Air India plane crash.
Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, is recovering from injuries sustained in the crash and is being treated at a hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ramesh, who police said was in seat 11A near the emergency exit and managed to squeeze through the broken hatch, was filmed after Thursday's crash limping on the street in a blood-stained T-shirt with bruises on his face.
That social media footage of Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, has been broadcast across India's news channels since the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted in a ball of fire after it plummeted onto a medical college hostel moments after taking off from Ahmedabad. It was the worst aviation disaster in a decade and his escape is being hailed as the "miracle of seat 11A" in the British media.
Ramesh, travelling with his 45-year-old brother Ajay Kumar Rakesh, recounted the harrowing moments to Prime Minister Modi during their meeting.
"My brother was seated in a different row and didn’t survive. I still don’t know how I made it out alive,” he told the Prime Minister.
"For a while, I thought I was going to die. Everything happened in front of my eyes — the noise, the impact, the fire. I somehow found a small space to escape.”
Describing the terrifying seconds before the crash, he said, "After take-off, the aircraft seemed to stall briefly. Then it suddenly nosedived and crashed into the building. I was on the opposite side of where the plane hit. That saved me.”
Ramesh, who was seen walking away from the wreckage despite his injuries, added that he was receiving good medical care.
Modi also visited the Civil Hospital and met with several injured victims of the crash, many of whom are students of the BJ Medical College.
FAMILY HEARTBROKEN OVER BROTHER
Police said some people at the hostel and others on the ground were also killed in the crash.
Rescue workers were searching for missing people and aircraft parts in the charred buildings of the hostel on Friday to help find the cause of the crash.
Air India has said the investigation will take time. Planemaker Boeing has said a team of experts is ready to go to India to help in the probe.
Ramesh said the plane seemed to come to a standstill in midair for a few seconds shortly after take-off and the green and white cabin lights were turned on. He said he could feel the engine thrust increasing but then the plane "crashed with speed into the hostel."
At the family home in Leicester, central England, Ramesh's cousin Hiren Kantilal said they had spoken with him via video call that morning and relatives were urgently trying to make arrangements to travel to India.
Asked about Ramesh's brother, Kantilal said: "We can't describe in the words, we are totally heartbroken."
The hostel that bore the brunt of the impact was filled with young MBBS students, many of whom had no time to react when the plane hit the building.
The ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was en route to London when it crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday. It slammed into the hostel of BJ Medical College in the densely populated Meghaninagar area, just 3 km from the airport.
The crash occurred around 1.30 pm — just as medical students had gathered in the mess-cum-dining hall for lunch.
Agencies