In what is now being called the “miracle of seat 11A,” Ramesh Viswashkumar, the sole survivor of Thursday’s catastrophic Air India crash that killed 241 people, has recounted the terrifying moments leading up to his escape from the burning aircraft.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, from Ahmedabad en route London Gatwick, crashed moments after takeoff, slamming into a medical college hostel and erupting into flames. The impact and subsequent inferno left the fuselage mangled, with only one passenger making it out alive.
“I don’t believe how I survived. For some time, I thought I was also going to die,” the 40-year-old British national of Indian origin told India’s state broadcaster, DD News, from his hospital bed on Friday. “But when I opened my eyes, I realised I was alive and I tried to unbuckle myself from the seat and escape from where I could. It was in front of my eyes that the air hostess and others died.”
Viswashkumar was seated in 11A, near an emergency exit. According to police and hospital officials, the section of the plane where he sat came to rest in a way that allowed him to spot an opening through a broken hatch.
“The side of the plane I was in landed on the ground, and I could see that there was space outside the aircraft,” he said. “So when my door broke, I tried to escape through it, and I did. The opposite side of the aircraft was blocked by the building wall, so nobody could have come out of there.”
Footage of Viswashkumar limping through the streets in a blood-stained T-shirt, bruised and dazed, has flooded Indian media and gone viral on social media platforms. He has been kept under observation at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad.
“His escape… and without any grievous injury, was nothing short of a miracle,” a hospital official told Reuters. “He also realises that and is a bit shaken by the trauma of it too.”
Tragically, Viswashkumar was travelling with his brother, Ajay, who was seated elsewhere on the flight. The family, based in Leicester, England, is devastated.
“We can’t describe in words, we are totally heartbroken,” said his cousin, Hiren Kantilal. The family had spoken to Viswashkumar via video call on Friday morning and were rushing to make travel arrangements to be by his side in India.
Viswashkumar recalled the moments before impact. He said the aircraft appeared to stall midair shortly after takeoff. “The green and white cabin lights were turned on,” he said. “I could feel the engine thrust increasing, but then the plane crashed with speed into the hostel.”
Authorities confirmed that in addition to the passengers onboard, several people on the ground, including residents of the hostel, were also killed in the disaster. Rescue workers continued combing through the charred wreckage on Friday in search of bodies and clues.
Air India has confirmed that a full investigation was underway. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has said a team of experts was ready to assist Indian authorities in the probe.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is originally from Gujarat, visited the crash site and met with Viswashkumar in the hospital. The nation continues to mourn the lives lost in what has become India’s worst aviation disaster in over a decade.
