Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, emerges as sole survivor of Gatwick-bound Flight AI171 after hearing ‘loud noise’ 30 seconds into doomed journey – as desperate search continues for his missing brother
A British father has miraculously walked away from the Air India plane disaster that killed 241 people, emerging as the sole survivor in what experts are calling an “impossible” escape from certain death.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, stunned rescue workers when he was found alive in the wreckage of Flight AI171, which crashed in a massive fireball just minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad bound for London Gatwick.
Astonishing footage showed the British national – bloodied but walking – being helped away from the apocalyptic crash scene by emergency workers who couldn’t believe their eyes as he emerged from the carnage that had claimed every other life on board.
Speaking from his hospital bed with visible injuries to his chest, eyes and feet, Mr Ramesh revealed the terrifying final moments of the doomed flight that has become India’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” the survivor told reporters, still in shock from his miraculous escape.
‘Bodies all around me’
In a harrowing account that laid bare the horror of the crash, Mr Ramesh described the nightmarish scene he awoke to after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner slammed into buildings housing medical students.
When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran,” he said, his voice breaking as he recalled the devastation.
“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.”
The father-of-one, who lives in London with his wife and child, had been returning home after visiting family in India when disaster struck at 1:39pm local time on Thursday.
Desperate search for missing brother
In a heartbreaking twist, Mr Ramesh revealed he had been traveling with his elder brother Ajay, who was seated in a different row and remains missing, feared dead among the 241 victims.
He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,” the survivor pleaded with authorities, still clutching his boarding pass from seat 11A – the miracle seat that somehow saved his life.
The brothers had been visiting the coastal town of Diu together before boarding the fatal flight back to London, where Mr Ramesh has lived for 20 years.
Found wandering in shock
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik confirmed that Mr Ramesh was discovered by rescue teams during their desperate search through the debris in the Meghani Nagar residential area where the plane came down.
The police found one survivor in seat 11A,” Malik told reporters. One survivor has been found and is under treatment in hospital.”
Video footage captured the miraculous moment Mr Ramesh was spotted wandering in the crash zone, his white shirt stained with blood and visible injuries to his face as crowds helped guide him toward waiting ambulances.
The survivor was rushed to Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad’s Asarwa district, where doctors confirmed he had sustained “impact injuries” but was in stable condition – a medical miracle given the devastating nature of the crash.
The 241 who didn’t make it
While Mr Ramesh’s survival has provided a glimmer of hope amid the tragedy, the scale of loss remains staggering. The crash claimed 241 lives, including:
- 52 other British nationals who were returning to the UK
- 169 Indian citizens
- 7 Portuguese nationals
- 1 Canadian passenger
- 2 pilots and 10 crew members
Among the dead was reportedly former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, adding to the national tragedy that has left India in mourning.
Rescue teams supported by military personnel have so far recovered 204 bodies from the scene, with the death toll expected to rise as some victims were in buildings struck by the aircraft.
‘Impossible’ survival
Aviation experts have expressed amazement that anyone could have survived the catastrophic crash, which saw the fully-fueled jet fail to gain altitude before plummeting into a densely populated area.
“There are two things that are needed for an aircraft take-off. One is adequate airspeed and the other one is a rate of climb. And that had neither,” Paul Edwards, an aviation security analyst, told Sky News.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner – making its first-ever fatal crash since the model was introduced in 2011 – issued a desperate “Mayday” call shortly after takeoff but then fell silent, reaching only 625 feet before beginning its fatal descent.
Experts believe the plane may have suffered a catastrophic power failure “at the most critical phase of flight,” with witnesses describing seeing the aircraft struggling to climb before it crashed in a massive explosion intensified by its heavy fuel load for the journey to London.
A father’s miraculous return
As Mr Ramesh recovers in hospital, still desperately hoping for news of his missing brother, his survival has been hailed as nothing short of miraculous by medical staff and aviation experts alike.
The British national, originally from Leicester according to social media reports, now faces the agonizing wait for news of his brother Ajay while coming to terms with his incredible escape from what should have been certain death.
His boarding pass for seat 11A – now being called “the miracle seat” – has become a symbol of hope amid one of aviation’s darkest days, proof that even in the worst disasters, miracles can happen.
As families of the 241 victims grapple with their devastating losses, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh’s survival stands as an extraordinary testament to fate – a British father who walked away from the impossible and lived to tell the tale.
Air India has activated an emergency helpline (1800 5691 444) for affected families, while investigations continue into what caused the Dreamliner’s catastrophic failure just 30 seconds after what should have been a routine takeoff to London.
