The lone survivor of the tragic Air India Flight AI171 crash, which claimed the lives of more than 240 passengers and crew members, has shared the harrowing details of how he managed to escape the burning wreckage.
Ramesh Viswashkumar, a British citizen of Indian descent, was seated near the emergency exit in seat 11A when the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft struck a hostel building belonging to a medical college before erupting into flames.
Social media footage showed Viswashkumar limping away from the scene in a blood-stained T-shirt, his face bruised. The dramatic video was broadcast across Indian television networks in the aftermath of the nation’s worst aviation disaster in over a decade.
“I can’t believe I survived,” the 40-year-old told India’s DD News from his hospital bed. “For a moment, I thought I was going to die. But I opened my eyes, realized I was alive, and tried to unbuckle myself and find a way out. I saw people, including the air hostess, die right before my eyes.”
He explained that shortly after takeoff, the plane seemed to pause in mid-air. The cabin lights turned green and white, and the engine roared before the aircraft suddenly crashed into the hostel at high speed.
Emergency crews rushed to the crash site, where several hostel residents and others on the ground were also reported dead. As of Friday, rescue teams were still combing through the charred remains of the building for missing persons and debris.
Viswashkumar recounted that the side of the plane he was seated on had made ground contact. When the hatch near his seat broke open, he saw an opening and managed to crawl out. “The opposite side was pressed against a wall — no one could’ve survived from that side,” he said.
He suffered minor burns to his left arm but was otherwise unharmed. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Gujarat at the time, visited the crash site and met with Viswashkumar in the hospital.
“I walked out of the crash,” he said, still in disbelief. “I don’t know how, but I survived.”
