Only the passenger in seat 11A on Air India Flight 171 lived to tell the tale, a survival that can only be described as a miracle. The tragic incident unfolded when the Air India plane, carrying 242 people, crashed into a building moments after taking off from the international airport in Ahmedabad, igniting a catastrophic fire. The intensity of the impact, heat, and smoke made escape seemingly impossible for all but one passenger: Viswash Kumar Ramesh, 38 years old.
In the hours following the crash, grainy footage circulated on social media, showing a man with wounds on his face and blood on his shirt. This man, identified as Mr. Ramesh, managed to walk himself to an ambulance with a slight limp. He recounted his harrowing experience to a crowd, stating he had come “from inside” the plane. Initial reports cast doubt on the veracity of Mr. Ramesh’s survival; the crash was so severe that officials revealed the bodies of most victims were charred beyond recognition. However, by late evening, Air India confirmed that there was indeed one survivor receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Amit Shah, India’s home minister, personally visited the survivor, and Indian media shared poignant images of Mr. Shah standing at Mr. Ramesh’s bedside. “I still can’t believe how I got out alive,” Mr. Ramesh stated in an interview from his hospital bed with India’s state broadcaster, Doordarshan. “I thought I was also about to die.” Mr. Ramesh, who was seated in an exit row, described the moment of the crash, noting that the plane felt “stuck five or 10 seconds after takeoff.” He observed that it seemed to be attempting to accelerate just before the catastrophic impact.
According to Mr. Ramesh, the front of the plane crashed into an open area after hitting buildings while the tail remained lodged in a structure identified later as the dining facility of a medical college. After the crash, he unbuckled his seatbelt when he saw a potential escape route. He did not clarify whether he had to manually open the emergency exit next to him or if the impact had caused it to open. “When my door broke, I saw there was some space — that I could try to get out,” he recounted. “The other side, people couldn’t get out, as it was crushed against a wall.”
Mr. Ramesh, a British citizen, was returning to England after a vacation in India with his brother, Ajay, and their younger sibling, Nayan. Tragically, Ajay, who was seated in 11J on the right side of the aircraft, did not survive the crash. Shortly after the incident, Mr. Ramesh made a video call from near the wreckage to reassure his family in Leicester that he was safe, according to his younger brother. The family home became a place of mourning for Ajay, while simultaneously grappling with the disbelief that Viswash had somehow managed to survive.
