The Air India crash will go down as one of the most deadly aviation disasters of the 21st century. Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was travelling from Ahmedabad, India, to London Gatwick, United Kingdom, and crashed shortly after take-off at 13:38. To rub salt into the wound, the plane crashed into a dense urban area, specifically a building providing accommodation for doctors. 1v681v

A day later, and the death toll continues to rise. 241 people aboard the aircraft and eight people on the ground are confirmed to have lost their lives, though many within the building the plane hit remain missing.

But, in a frankly miraculous twist, one enger aboard the aircraft walked away with only minor injuries. 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was in India visiting family and was sitting in seat 11A on the flight. Now, in his first full interview, he’s given his of what happened and how he became the flight’s sole survivor.

“I thought I was dead” 3e5h1k

Speaking from his hospital bed to a reporter from DD News, Ramesh said he realized early on that something wasn’t right with the plane: “When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air. Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white. The aircraft wasn’t gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.”

Ramesh is completely baffled as to why he wasn’t incinerated in the explosion, though he believes the part of the plane he was in didn’t crash onto the roof of the building: “At first, I thought I was dead. Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage. I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out. I don’t know how I survived.”

But while Ramesh might be physically fine, the experience sounds (as you might expect), deeply traumatic. “I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me … I walked out of the rubble.” In addition, Ramesh’s brother was sitting in the seat next to him and did not survive the crash.

Regardless, we can only imagine the relief of Ramesh’s wife and young son when he called them to say he’d survived. All logic says nobody should have been able to survive that crash, much less walk away from it with only superficial injuries. Many have already dubbed Ramesh “the luckiest man in the world”.

Though, frankly, after losing his brother and seeing death first-hand, we suspect he doesn’t feel particularly blessed. Here’s hoping Air India provides him with the appropriate psychological counseling to process this.

The Air India crash this morning looks set to go down as one of the most horrifying aviation disasters of modern times. Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was travelling from Ahmedabad, India, to London Gatwick, United Kingdom, and crashed shortly after take-off at 13:38. To rub salt into the wound, the plane crashed into a dense urban area, specifically a building providing accommodation for doctors.

Video footage of the crash shows a colossal fireball, caused by the plane being full of fuel for its flight around the world and, in initial reports, the local police commissioner said there “appears to be no survivors” from the 242 engers and crew.

This man walking in white shirt Mr. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, Seat 11 A has survived the today's Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It's a miracle. He is the only one survivor confirmed by Ahmedabad Police. Thanks God. pic.twitter.com/gGLgt479m5

— Licypriya Kangujam (@LicypriyaK) June 12, 2025

But, incredibly, one man not only survived the crash, but also walked away from the wreckage with minor injuries. The sole survivor is 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who lives in London and was in India visiting family. The Hindustan Times briefly spoke to him, and he gave his first-hand of what happened:

“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.”

Aircraft crash survivors are generally sitting towards the back of the plane, though Ramesh was in 11A, the front row of economy. He was also immediately next to an emergency exit, which doubtless aided his escape from the wreckage. Even so, it’s frankly miraculous that anyone can survive, let alone walk away, from a crash like this.

What’s next? 4i524o

MIRACLE IN SEAT 11A: SOLE SURVIVOR SPEAKS AFTER #PLANECRASH #AI171

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the only survivor, recalls a loud boom just 30 seconds after takeoff before the plane nosedived.

"Someone grabbed me, put me in an ambulance, and brought me to the hospital."#BREAKING… pic.twitter.com/arFlHcyf1v

— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) June 12, 2025

Ramesh’s wife and children are reportedly in London and doubtless dizzy with relief that he’s alive and with only minor injuries. But, tragically, this is not a truly happy story. Ramesh’s brother was sitting in the seat next to him and remains uned for.

We can barely imagine the psychological impact of being the sole survivor of a disaster of this magnitude. Social media is already dubbing him the “luckiest man in the world”, though given that he’s apparently just lost his brother, we doubt he feels the same way. Whatever the case, we can only hope he gets the psychological he’s going to need over the coming weeks and can be reunited with his family in London as soon as possible.

That said, we really don’t envy him inevitably having to fly back to London, as after this I wouldn’t blame him for never wanting to see a enger jet again, never mind fly on one.

The world awoke this morning to the horrifying news of the Air India crash. Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was travelling from Ahmedabad, India, to London Gatwick, United Kingdom, and crashed shortly after take-off at 13:38. To rub salt into the wound, the plane crashed into a building providing accommodation for doctors and near a major hospital.

On board were 242 engers and crew: 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. As of writing, there are 105 confirmed casualties and the recovery operation is undergoing, though the Ahmedabad police commissioner has sadly confirmed that, of those on the plane, there “appears to be no survivors“.

But, even within this tragedy, there is a ray of hope. The plane came very close to crashing into the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, and a direct strike on that busy building could have caused a huge number of deaths on the ground. In a very thin silver lining, it appears that the doctor’s accommodation the plane crashed into was relatively unoccupied at the time, as those living there were already at work.

#WATCH | Air India plane crash: "My son had gone to the hostel during lunch break, and the plane crashed there. My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries,” says Ramila, who reached the civil hospital in Ahmedabad,… pic.twitter.com/MgMtvXBSou

— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2025

For those actually inside the building, it must have been terrifying. Local woman Ramila appeared on ANI TV News to reveal that her son had returned to the accommodation to eat lunch there when the plane hit. He was forced to leap from a second-floor window and suffered injuries, though miraculously not serious ones. Ramila confirms she has spoken to him, indicating that while he’s presumably shaken up, he’s otherwise fine.

Questions must be answered 6wl5o

Scenes from resident student doctors mess where a flight crashes into a hostel building.#planecrash pic.twitter.com/dVenT0Yscx

— The Letter S (@WhyTheLetter_S) June 12, 2025

That’s about it for good news. Images from inside the doctor’s accommodation show that the side of the building took a direct hit, collapsing a wall, with pieces of the plane’s fuselage penetrating the interior. We can only hope that few people inside were in the vicinity of this location when the crash took place.

As the dust settles and the cleanup begins, investigators are hard at work searching for answers on what went wrong. Footage of the crash itself indicates the plane didn’t fully achieve lift, raising the prospect of a critical mechanical failure that’ll leave Boeing and its executives in the spotlight. Until then we can only be happy that Ramila’s son is alive, and pray we hear more stories of miraculous survival.