Air India Crash Survivor Tells Modi: Don’t Know How I Survived

AHMEDABAD (IANS)- Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of June 12 devastating Air India plane crash, met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, sharing his harrowing experience. Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, is currently recovering from his injuries at a local hospital.

“I still don’t know how I made it out alive,” Ramesh recounted to Prime Minister Modi, tearfully explaining that his 45-year-old brother, Ajay Kumar Rakesh, who was seated in a different row, did not survive. “For a while, I thought I was going to die. Everything happened in front of my eyes — the noise, the impact, the fire. I somehow found a small space to escape.”

The ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London, crashed around 1:30 PM on June 12 shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft slammed into the hostel of BJ Medical College in the densely populated Meghani nagar area, just 3 km from the airport. The crash occurred precisely as many medical students had gathered for lunch in the mess-cum-dining hall, leaving many no time to react.

Ramesh described the terrifying moments before impact: “After take-off, the aircraft seemed to stall briefly. Then it suddenly nosedived and crashed into the building. I was on the opposite side of where the plane hit. That saved me.” Despite his injuries, Ramesh was seen walking away from the wreckage and confirmed he is receiving good medical care.

Modi also visited the Civil Hospital, meeting with several other injured victims, many of whom are students of the BJ Medical College. Authorities have initiated a large-scale rescue and identification operation, with the process of handing over bodies to grieving families now underway. Investigators are meticulously examining the debris to determine the cause of what has become one of India’s deadliest recent aviation tragedies.