Ahmedabad plane crash lone survivor can't believe how he survived

Ahmedabad: Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of Air India's AI 171 crash, said he still cannot believe how he miraculously survived the accident of the ill-fated London-bound flight in which 265 people lost their lives.

Ramesh, a British citizen, said he felt the aircraft had stalled within seconds of taking off from Ahmedabad on its nine-hour journey to London's Gatwick Airport, and that green and white lights came on.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ramesh, who is recovering at the city's Civil Hospital, and enquired about his well-being.

In an interview with DD News, Ramesh, a resident of Leicester, said, "It all happened in front of my eyes. I cannot believe how I survived.

"For a brief moment, I felt I was about to die but when my eyes opened, I was alive. I unbuckled myself from the seat and exited from an opening." "In front of my eyes, air hostess and aunties and uncles had perished. Within a minute, it felt that the plane had stalled. Green and white lights were on. It looked that they were giving 'race' to the plane to give more thrust and the plane crashed into a building," he said.

Ramesh, 45, was seated in seat 11A on the 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating the Ahmedabad–London AI 171 service. The aircraft was carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members.

Seat 11A is one of six seats in the first row of the economy class on Air India's B787-8 aircraft. It is a window seat near an emergency exit and adjacent to the aircraft's galley, according to the seat map.

Ramesh said his side of the aircraft did not hit the hostel, which allowed him to walk away from the wreckage.

"It landed on ground. There was some space on my side. When door broke open, I could find a space and escape. I could not believe that I am alive. My left hand got burnt in the fire but I walked out of the crash site. I received good treatment here," he said.

The aircraft, which included former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani among its passengers, crashed moments after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

Ramesh was the only survivor. The 241 others on board — including 168 Indians, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian — were killed.

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed Ahmedabad at 1:39 pm IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It issued a MAYDAY call but then ceased responding to subsequent ATC communications, according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).