British Indian Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, the lone survivor of Thursday’s Air India crash, escaped through an opening in the fuselage. Speaking to Indian state media DD News, Ramesh said “I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out.”
Air India flight A171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, western India, on Thursday enroute to London. It crashed into a building housing doctors at the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital.
Air India reported that all passengers and crew were killed, including 169 Indian nationals and 52 British nationals. Over 200 bodies have been recovered, but it is not certain how many were passengers and how many were from the ground.
Ramesh, who was on seat 11A on the ill-fated flight, further told DD News that the lights inside the aircraft “started flickering” moments after takeoff and within five to 10 seconds, it felt like the plane was “stuck in the air”.
“The lights started flickering green and white…suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.”
Ramesh, who said he could not believe that he came out alive, said “I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me.
“For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too, but when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive.
“I still can’t believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble.”
