A British national miraculously survived the Air India plane disaster in which a Boeing 787 crashed and exploded moments after taking off for London, killing at least 290 people, his family has said.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was found in seat 11A with relatively minor injuries after Thursday’s crash in the western city of Ahmedabad. His brother Ajay, who was also on the Air India plane, is missing presumed dead.
There were 242 passengers and crew onboard flight AI171 to Gatwick when it plunged into the accommodation block of a medical college, killing dozens on the ground.
The cause of the disaster is not yet clear. Fifty-three British nationals were on the flight and UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.
Police said Mr Ramesh was the sole passenger known so far to have survived but added that rescue operations were still ongoing.
Mr Ramesh told local media: “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.”
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“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. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital,” he said.
Mr Ramesh has a wife and son in the UK. Speaking outside the family home in Leicester, his other brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, said: “We were just shocked as soon as we heard it.”
“He video called my dad as he crashed and said ‘Oh the plane’s crashed. I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t see any other passengers. I don’t know how I’m alive, how I exited the plane’.”
Footage of Mr Ramesh shared on social media, apparently showed him walking away from the wreckage relatively unscathed. He was sitting next to an emergency exit, just behind business class.
Images taken after the incident showed debris from the plane scattered around the area, including parts of the fuselage, tail and landing gear embedded in the B J Medical College building.
It was the first fatal accident for the Boeing Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011; the aircraft in Thursday’s crash was delivered to Air India in January 2014.
It took off from Ahmedabad airport at 1.39pm local time (8.09am BST) but after issuing a mayday call, it crashed into the residential neighbourhood of Meghani Nagar.
Video and images from the city show plumes of smoke pouring from the wreckage of the plane, with firefighters seeking to douse the charred remains of buildings impacted by the crash.
Pieces of the aircraft’s landing gear, fuselage and tail could all be seen protruding from the building.
Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran described the incident as a “tragic accident” and a “devastating event.”
The airline has gained a poor reputation for delays and cancellations in recent years, racking up billions of pounds in losses, but has been undergoing a turnaround since being bought from the Indian government by the Tata Group in January 2022.
King Charles said he was “desperately shocked” by the incident and Buckingham Palace said he was being kept updated on the developing situation.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was in constant contact with Indian authorities.
“I think it is important for all friends and family to contact the foreign office so we can roll out this as quickly as possible, but it is an ongoing investigation,” he said. “It’ll take some time.
“But you know, our hearts and our thoughts are absolutely with the friends and families of all those affected who are going to be absolutely devastated by this awful news.”
