A British man has been confirmed as the sole survivor of the devastating Air India Flight AI171 crash, which killed 290 people after the jet went down shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.
The Boeing aircraft, en route to London’s Gatwick Airport, was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members when it reportedly lost control seconds after departure and crashed into a nearby building, a hostel housing medical professionals.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Air India confirmed the tragedy and noted that a single passenger had miraculously survived. The airline described him only as a British citizen “of Indian origin” who is currently receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Local media outlets have since identified the man as 40 year old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was traveling with his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh. Ajay is feared to have died in the crash.
Speaking from his hospital bed at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Ramesh recounted the terrifying moments leading up to the impact.
“When the flight took off, within 5 to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air,” he told DD News. “Suddenly, the lights started flickering, green and white, then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there.”
Ramesh, who had been seated in 11A, described watching passengers and crew perish around him. “I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me… I walked out of the rubble.”
Even now, he says he struggles to comprehend how he made it out alive. “I still can’t believe how I survived,” he said. “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.”
According to Ahmedabad’s Police Commissioner G.S. Malik, Ramesh was pulled from the wreckage with multiple impact injuries and burns on his left hand. Authorities believe the part of the aircraft where he was seated did not hit the building directly, possibly explaining why he was able to escape when others could not.
“When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out. I tried, and I did. Maybe the people who were on the other side of the plane weren’t able to,” he told reporters.
Health officials confirmed that all other passengers and crew members aboard the flight were killed, and additional fatalities occurred on the ground. CNN reports the final death toll stands at 290.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, with aviation authorities expected to conduct a full review in the coming days.
