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 media persons 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.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is a 40-year-old British national who was visiting family in India. He was returning to the UK with his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, 45. Vishwash was seated in 11A, while his brother occupied a different row on the plane.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” Vishwash told reporters.
Still holding his Air India boarding pass, Vishwash recounted, "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."
The brothers had recently visited Diu together. Vishwash added, "He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore.”