Viswashkumar Ramesh doesn’t know how he made it out alive. One moment, he was preparing for a long-haul flight to London. Next, he was crawling out of a burning Air India aircraft surrounded by screams, shattered metal, and the bodies of fellow passengers.
The 40-year-old British national of Indian origin, seated in 11A, was the only person to survive when Air India Flight AI171 crashed just minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner slammed into a residential area near the airport, killing 241 on board and at least 29 people on the ground. From his hospital bed, Ramesh gave his first interview to India’s DD News, trying to piece together the horror he lived through.
Survivor Recalls Terrifying Moments During Air India Flight Crash
Ramesh said the flight felt off from the start. “Within a minute after take-off, something felt wrong — like something had gotten stuck,” he told the broadcaster. The plane’s green and white lights flashed as it accelerated but failed to lift properly, eventually crashing into a hospital hostel building.
“Everything happened in front of me, and even I can’t believe how I made it out alive,” Ramesh said, his voice shaking as he spoke. His brother, who was also on the flight, did not survive.
Ramesh recalled seeing chaos unfold in real time. “At first, I thought I was dead. But when I opened my eyes, I realised I was alive.” He spotted debris everywhere, bodies nearby, and flames licking the inside of the broken fuselage. “I unfastened my seatbelt and tried to escape — and I did,” he said.
His seat was on the side of the aircraft that struck the ground floor of the building. He noticed a gap where the door had broken and made a run for it. Social media clips captured him, bloodied and limping, walking unaided to a waiting ambulance.
“My left hand was slightly burnt, but the ambulance got me to the hospital quickly. The people here are taking good care of me,” Ramesh added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ramesh in the hospital Friday, offering comfort in footage shared on his official YouTube channel. Air India confirmed 169 Indians, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese, one Canadian, and 12 crew were on board. Recovery teams continued pulling bodies from the wreckage late into Friday.
