Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a british national and lone survivor from the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 241 passengers enroute Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital has recounted the ordeal while in an Indian hospital receiving treatment
Ramesh who was in seat 11A on the London-bound Boeing 787 flight when it crashed shortly after take off in Ahmedabad Airport was seen walking from the scene shortly in a bloodstained shirt after news of Air India plane crash broke.
“Around thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” he was quote saying in an interview at the hospital where he was being treated.
Ramesh who was on family visit to India was returning to the UK with his brother, said to have been seated in a different row.
The crash site lies within a medical campus with 10 specialised centres. “It crashed into the hostel mess and then bounced off on to one of the hostel buildings,” the hospital’s dean, Dr Meenkashi Parekh.
Indian news outlets have shared a photo of Ramesh’s boarding pass, which indicated that he was in seat 11A of the flight, in the emergency exit row, just in front of the plane’s left wing.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the aircraft issued a mayday call seconds after take-off before it lost contact with air traffic control shortly thereafter, crashing just outside the airport’s perimeter.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi through his X platform issued a condolence message to the families of 241 victims, “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected,” noted PM Modi.
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