A British national miraculously survived the Air India plane disaster in which a Boeing 787 crashed and exploded moments after taking off for London, killing at least 241 people.
Police said Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, jumped out of an emergency exit next to his seat, suffering relatively minor injuries after Thursday’s crash in the western city of Ahmedabad. His brother Ajay, who was also on the plane, is missing presumed dead.
His family say he has no recollection of how he escaped.
There were 242 passengers and crew onboard flight AI171 to Gatwick when it plunged into the accommodation block of a medical college, where it’s feared more people also died.
Air India confirmed 241 people on board had died, saying it offered its deepest condolences to their families. Police said more than 240 people had been killed, revising an earlier death toll of 294.
The cause of the disaster is not yet clear. Fifty-three British nationals were on the flight, and UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.
Mr Ramesh, the sole passenger known to have survived, told local media: “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.”
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“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,” he said.
Mr Ramesh has a wife and son in the UK. Outside the family home in Leicester, his other brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, said: “We are all devasted and in a state of shock at the moment. Even though one of my brothers survived, my other one is missing.
“Both of them were happy, coming back to the UK. They were in India for personal reasons.
“I want to see my brother in hospital. We are going over there as soon as possible, tomorrow.
“No one (from the British government) has been in contact yet.”
Describing his brother, he added: “We would do everything together and go everywhere together.
“There are no words that can describe him as a human being. He is one of the nicest guys ever.
“You can ask anyone and they would all say the same thing.”
Describing Vishwash’s injuries, he said: “He has injuries to his face, chest and he has cuts and bruises.
“He hasn’t told us anything about when he will be discharged. All he is worried about when we spoke to him on the phone was ‘where’s my brother? Where’s my brother?’
“He doesn’t know how he escaped. I don’t think he remembers what happened.”
Nayan said his older brother video-called their father after the disaster, and said “Oh the plane’s crashed. I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t see any other passengers. I don’t know how I’m alive, how I exited the plane”.
Footage of Mr Ramesh apparently showed him walking away from the wreckage relatively unscathed. He had been sitting in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, just behind business class.
He told the Hindustan Times that his brother Ajay had been seated in a different row.
Images taken after the incident showed debris from the plane scattered around the area, including parts of the fuselage, tail and landing gear embedded in the B J Medical College building.
It was the first fatal accident for the Boeing Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011; the aircraft in Thursday’s crash was delivered to Air India in January 2014.
It took off from Ahmedabad airport at 1.39pm local time (8.09am BST) but after issuing a mayday call, it crashed into the residential neighbourhood of Meghani Nagar.
Video and images from the city show plumes of smoke pouring from the wreckage of the plane, with firefighters seeking to douse the charred remains of buildings impacted by the crash.
Pieces of the aircraft’s landing gear, fuselage and tail could all be seen protruding from the building.
Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran described the incident as a “tragic accident” and a “devastating event”.
The airline has gained a poor reputation for delays and cancellations in recent years, racking up billions of pounds in losses, but has been undergoing a turnaround since being bought from the Indian government by the Tata Group in January 2022.
King Charles said he was “desperately shocked” by the incident and Buckingham Palace said he was being kept updated on the situation.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was in constant contact with Indian authorities.
“I think it is important for all friends and family to contact the foreign office so we can roll out this as quickly as possible, but it is an ongoing investigation,” he said. “It’ll take some time.
“But you know, our hearts and our thoughts are absolutely with the friends and families of all those affected who are going to be absolutely devastated by this awful news.”
