Team News Riveting
Ahmedabad, June 12
Amidst unspeakable tragedy and charred wreckage, one man walked out alive.
Ramesh Vishwashkumar, a 40-year-old British national of Indian origin, was the sole survivor in the deadly Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad Thursday afternoon that stunned the nation. The Air India flight AI 171 bound for London, carrying 242 passengers, crashed shortly after take-off in a residential area of Ahmedabad on Thursday killing one but all on board. Heavy casualties on ground is also feared.
Seated on 11A aboard Air India Flight AI 171, Vishwashkumar miraculously survived the disaster. Surrounded by charred wreckage and debris, he walked out to let the world know miracle do happens.
According to Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik, Vishwashkumar was the sole survivor found in seat 11A. “The police found one survivor in seat 11A. One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment. We cannot confirm the number of deaths yet, but it may increase due to the residential area impact,” Malik told the media.
Vishwashkumar was returning to the UK after visiting his extended family in Gujarat, accompanied by his elder brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh. However, the fate of his brother remains unknown, and Vishwashkumar is still searching for him.
Witnesses described seeing a dazed man, with scorched clothes and a blood-stained white T-shirt, limping away from the wreckage. “He was in shock, just walking, not speaking—barely breathing,” one of them recalled.
Despite being found amidst a pile of charred bodies, Vishwashkumar’s injuries are non-life-threatening, hospital sources said, adding that he is stable but in emotional shock, unable to recall much beyond the moment the aircraft began to shudder violently.
“I just remember a loud blast… then everything went dark. I think I just jumped,” Vishwashkumar told medical staff faintly. He is however asking nurses, “Did my brother make it?”
The brothers had planned to return to the UK together on what should have been a routine flight.
London-based yoga enthusiast Jamie Meek was onboard the ill-fated aircraft with his partner Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek. The couple was returning to UK after a trip to Gujarat. Reminiscing his memories in India, Jamie shared a post on Instagram on Wednesday night, calling it a “magical experience” in India.
He posted another video on Thursday morning, just minutes before he boarded his flight to England. “Goodbye India…,” he said.
