Ahmedabad: Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British businessman from Leicester and the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, says his astonishing escape was a combination of fortune and quick decision in identifying a crucial space amidst the wreckage and acting fast.
Talking to DD News a day after the air disaster, Ramesh, originally a native of coastal town of Diu adjoining Gujarat, said his seat, 11A, was close to an emergency door on the left side of the ill-fated plane, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The London-bound aircraft smashed into a hostel building, part of BJ Medical College complex, soon after taking off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
“Luckily, the portion of the plane where I was seated fell on the ground floor of the hostel premises after the plane crash landed. When I saw that the door of the plane was broken, I told myself ‘I can try and get out’. Eventually, I got out of the plane” Ramesh, a British citizen, maintained.
He is currently being treated at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi met him in the morning during his visit to the city.
“I believe that others could not escape because there was a wall on that side (of the hostel) while there was a small gap where I was sitting. I still can’t believe how I survived the crash because I saw people dying in front of my eyes,” he said.
A resident of Leicester, a city approximately 140 km north-northwest of London, Ramesh escaped with injuries for which he is undergoing treatment.
“Though I managed to escape, my left hand got burnt as the plane caught fire after the crash. I walked out of the aircraft and then an ambulance brought me to hospital. I am getting proper treatment here,” he said.
In a viral video shot by a local resident immediately after the crash, Ramesh can be seen walking towards the ambulance after getting hurt in the crash.
“It all happened in front of my eyes. I cannot believe how I survived…For a brief moment, I felt I was about to die but when my eyes opened, I was alive. I unbuckled myself from the seat and exited from an opening,” he recalled.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171), with 242 people on board, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, crashed into a medical college complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off.
Ramesh survived the tragedy, while 241 others on board, including 169 Indians, 52 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, perished in the crash.
The police have confirmed that at least 265 people, including those on the ground, were killed in the tragedy. Four MBBS students and a doctor’s wife were among those killed at the complex of BJ Medical College located outside the airport perimeter.
