How did sole survivor of Air India plane, on seat 11A, escape Ahmedabad crash?

India, June 13 (Hindustan Times): Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the only survivor of the fatal Air India plane crash in Gujarat's Ahmedabad that killed all others who were on the aircraft, said that he is still in disbelief about his escape.

Ramesh, a 45-year-old British national, was seated on 11A – near an emergency exit – of the Air India flight, when it crashed on Thursday, killing 241 people onboard.

The aircraft crashed into the complex of a medical college after it had taken off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. Of the total passengers onboard, there were 169 Indians, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals, apart from 12 crew members.

"Even I can't believe how I came out of it alive. For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive. I still can't believe how I survived,” Vishwash Kumar told DD News.

How did he escape?

Ramesh said that soon after the flight took off from the runway, lights started flickering inside the aircraft before it rammed into a building. He added that the section of the aircraft he was in remained grounded and, unlike the rest of the plane, did not crash onto the roof of the building.

“At first, I thought I was dead. Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage. I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out,”  Ramesh said. 

He further added, “I don’t know how I survived. “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.”

As reported by Hindustan Times, Vishwash was in India for a few days to visit his family and was going back to the UK along with his brother.

Vishwash, who still had his boarding pass, told HT on Thursday: “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.”