Photo: Vishwash Kumar Ramesh on hospital bed
…Says: ‘I Don’t Know Why I’m Alive’
In a tragedy that claimed 241 lives, one man walked away from the burning wreckage of Air India Flight 171, dazed, injured—but alive. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British-Indian businessman from Leicester, emerged as the sole survivor of what is now being called one of the worst aviation disasters in India’s history.
Ramesh was seated in seat 11A, near an emergency exit, when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. Bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, the flight never made it past the city limits, plummeting into a college hostel building just 30 seconds into the air. The plane erupted into a fireball, killing all 240 other people on board—including Ramesh’s older brother, Ajay Kumar, who was seated just two rows behind him.
From his hospital bed at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Ramesh recounted the moment everything changed. “There was a loud crack. Then fire. Then screams. I don’t remember how, but I undid my belt, saw a hole where the exit used to be, and crawled through. The rest was smoke and silence.”
His voice trembles, recalling the chaos. “There were bodies all around me. My hands were burned, and I could barely stand. But somehow, I walked. I called my wife in the UK. All I could say was, ‘I’m alive. I’m sorry. Ajay is gone.’”
The sheer randomness of survival has left Ramesh emotionally shattered. His seat, close to a partially detached section of the fuselage, likely saved his life. Emergency responders say he was the only person pulled from the wreckage.. “I’ve no idea why I was spared,” he whispered. “There’s no reason it should’ve been me.”
The tragedy has shocked the world. The Air India crash has not only devastated families across India and the UK but also raised critical questions about aircraft safety and pilot response. Investigators from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), along with Boeing and UK aviation experts, are now probing the cause—preliminary reports cite a potential engine stall or bird strike, though no official conclusion has been drawn.
In the wake of the crash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the hospital and spoke with Ramesh, calling his survival “a miracle India will not forget.” The Prime Minister has ordered a full inquiry and pledged compensation to all victims’ families.
Meanwhile, Ramesh remains in recovery, both physically and emotionally. Doctors report that he sustained second-degree burns, a fractured wrist, and minor lung damage from smoke inhalation. But the trauma is harder to treat. “I keep hearing the screams,” he said, eyes brimming. “I see my brother. Every night.”
Ramesh’s story has resonated globally, not just as a tale of survival but as a stark reminder of how quickly life can change. Across Leicester, vigils have been held, and donations are being raised for families affected by the crash.
“I want to live for Ajay now,” he said. “He was my best friend, my protector. He would’ve done anything to save me—and maybe, in some way, he did.”
As international investigators continue to piece together the final seconds of Flight 171, one man’s survival stands as a rare glimmer of hope amid profound loss. The scars on Vishwash Ramesh’s body may heal, but the story of how he lived when no one else did will endure.
