Sole survivor of Air India crash recounts horror as rescue efforts continue

Viswashkumar Ramesh, the only known survivor of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad, said he escaped through an emergency exit as bodies lay scattered around him.

Viswashkumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, has been identified as the sole confirmed survivor among the 242 people onboard an Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The London-bound plane went down in a residential area, making it the world’s deadliest aviation disaster in a decade.

According to Indian police, Ramesh had been seated near an emergency exit and managed to escape through the emergency door. It remains unclear whether he jumped before or after the plane made impact.

Speaking to Hindustan Times from his hospital bed, Ramesh said, “When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me.” He added that someone helped him into an ambulance and took him to hospital.

Footage aired on Indian news channels and circulating on social media showed a bloodied man limping down a street, being assisted by a medic. The man bore a striking resemblance to Ramesh, as seen in photos published after the crash. Reuters was unable to independently verify the footage.

Ramesh’s boarding pass, published by local media, showed he was in seat 11A on the flight to Gatwick Airport. His brother, Ajay, who was travelling with him, had been seated elsewhere on the plane and remains unaccounted for. Ramesh has reportedly asked for help locating him.

Senior police officer Vidhi Chaudhary confirmed Ramesh’s escape through the emergency door. "He was near the emergency exit and managed to escape by jumping out the emergency door," she said.

Ramesh's cousin, Ajay Valgi, speaking from Leicester in central England, told the BBC that Ramesh called the family to confirm he was alive but did not offer many details. “He only said that he was fine, nothing else,” Valgi said, adding that the family had received no news about his brother.

Ramesh is married and has a son, according to relatives.

The crash claimed the lives of over 240 people, including some on the ground, when the aircraft struck a medical college hostel outside the airport at lunchtime. Authorities clarified that an earlier reported death toll of 294 had been due to double-counting of body parts.

Police noted that while Ramesh is the only confirmed survivor so far, search and rescue operations are ongoing, and others may yet be found alive.

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