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Sole Survivor Of Air India Crash Recalls Crawling Through Broken Exit To Save His Life
The lone survivor of the Air India airline accident has described how he managed to escape during the catastrophe, which claimed the lives of over 200 people.
A 40-year-old British man successfully escaped the debris of the Air India flight on Thursday, June 12, which killed all 241 other passengers and crew members in addition to scores more on the ground.
Less than a minute after taking off, the deadly AI171 jet slammed into residential buildings on its way to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad.
There were 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8, including 169 Indians, 53 Britons, one Canadian, and seven Portuguese.
The only survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was seated in seat 11a on the aircraft, has now disclosed how he was able to escape the wreckage.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times from a hospital bed in Asarwa, Ahmedabad, Ramesh said, “Thirty seconds after takeoff there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.”
“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 explained his specific method of self-liberation to DD News, the Indian state media outlet.
Ramesh stated, “I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out.”
The lights within the aircraft’started flickering’ shortly after takeoff, he also remembers.
A few seconds later, he claimed that the jet appeared to be “stuck in the air.”
“The lights started flickering green and white…suddenly slammed into a building and exploded,” he added.
The aircraft struck a structure that housed physicians at the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital.
The Leicester father-of-one said that the section of the aircraft in which he was sitting was close to the ground and had not struck the structure.
“When the door broke and I saw there was some space, I tried to get out of there and I did,” he said.
“No one could have got out from the opposite side, which was towards the wall, because it crashed there.”
The video, which has now gone viral, then shows Ramesh making his way towards an ambulance while leaving the debris.
“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.”
Doctor Dhaval Gameti, who it treating Ramesh, said, “He was disorientated, with multiple injuries all over his body. But he seems to be out of danger.”
According to officials, the jet’s black box, which was recovered from the crash scene, will be examined in order to determine the reason of the collision.
A definitive death toll from the plane and those on the ground below has also not yet been released by the police.
India is “devastated by the air tragedy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement after visiting the scene.
He added: “The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families. We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come. Om Shanti.”
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