News & Current Events
New Footage Shows Miraculous Survival Of Air India Crash Victim Amid Blazing Ruins
New video has been released showing the moment the only survivor of the Air India airline disaster escaped the flaming wreckage.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British man, amazingly escaped the debris of the Air India flight that murdered all 241 other passengers and staff members on June 12.
Less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad, India, the fateful AI171 jet headed for London crashed into a building intended for doctors’ accommodations for a medical college, killing scores more people on the ground and officially bringing the death toll to 270.
The cause of the Boeing 787-8, one of the deadliest aviation catastrophes of the century, is still unknown to the authorities.
The only individual to escape the incident, which witnessed the aeroplane explode in flames from a massive blaze as it crashed into the residential area, is Ramesh, who was seated in seat 11a on the aircraft.
“I was able to ‘unbuckle’ myself from my seat and use my leg to push through an opening where I crawled out to safety,” the Leicester father-of-one recalled from his hospital bed.
“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 added to local news media.
New footage now shows the unexplained moment Ramesh emerged from the wreckage.
While clouds of thick black smoke and an inferno from the building and burning jet raged just meters behind him, he was observed limping and bewildered as he walked away.
In the meantime, calls to emergency services were audible from panicked citizens in the streets.
Then, as many more hurried to his aid, a bystander came up to the bleeding survivor and led him away from the debris and into the arms of rescue personnel.
Tragically, Ramesh lost his brother Ajay, who was seated on the same row as him, while they were travelling back to the UK to be with their family.
The section of the plane he was sitting in was close to the ground and had not made touch with the building, he disclosed in an interview with Indian state media DD News.
Amazingly, Ramesh claimed he “just walked out” and didn’t have to jump to the ground despite the emergency door being damaged.
Ramesh acknowledges that he “can’t explain” how the disaster occurred, but he does remember a “loud noise” and “flickering lights” inside the plane just seconds after takeoff.
“I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me,” he told the Indian broadcaster. “For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too, but when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive.”
“I still can’t believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble.”
Although Ramesh’s injuries were minor—abrasions to his arm and some puffiness to his eyes—the doctors treating him have confirmed that he is ‘vitally stable’.
The jet’s black box, which was recovered by authorities from the rooftop of a neighbouring building, will provide a second-by-second account of the events leading up to the catastrophic collision, including radio broadcasts, pilot chats and any other warning indications or alarms.
In addition to the 1 crore rupees, or around £85,000 ($115k), that Tata Sons has committed, Campbell Wilson, CEO and MD of Air India, has promised to provide an interim payment of 25 lakh rupees, or roughly £21,000 (about $28,000), to each of the families of the deceased and survivors.
Now Trending:
- Chilling Final Words Of Air India Pilot Moments Before Tragic Crash That Killed 265 Uncovered
- Air India Plane Crash: Authorities Confirm Sole Survivor Found Among 242 Passengers
- Air India Breaks Silence With Payout Offer To Families After Flight With 242 On Board Crashes
Please SHARE this article with Family and Friends and let us know what you think in comments!
