Air India has confirmed that there was only one survivor out of the 242 people on board the London-bound plane when it crashed into a medical school shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport.
The airline said in a statement that a British national was the sole survivor inside the Boeing 787-8 aircraft that took off from Ahmedabad at 13:38 local time on Thursday (12 June).
"The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital. The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national," Air India said.
Advert
"The survivor is a British national of Indian origin."
Who survived the Air India crash?
British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was in seat 11A, near one of the plane's emergency exits.
As reported by the Hindustan Times, the 40-year-old was taken to a general ward at the Civil Hospital Asarwa in Ahmedabad after the crash.
Advert
Ramesh, who had 'impact injuries' on his chest, eyes and feet, told the outlet that he was in India for a few days to visit his family.
He was travelling back to the UK with his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, 45.
British national recalls what happened
"Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly," Ramesh told the Hindustan Times.
Advert
"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 that his brother Ajay was sitting in a different row on the flight.
"We visited Diu. He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him," Ramesh added.
Ramesh's younger brother speaks out from Leicester
Advert
Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, has spoken outside the family home in Leicester.
He told Sky News that the family were 'shocked' when the news came in.
"I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We’re devastated, just devastated," Nayan said.
"He said I have no idea how I exited the plane.
"He video called my dad as he crashed 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’."
Ramesh's current condition
Advert
Sky News India reporter and producer Neville Lazarus said he visited Ramesh in his hospital ward.
"Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was conscious, half sitting on his bed in blue hospital scrubs when I walked into the ward," he told the outlet.
"He had bruises on his hands and face and was speaking to an attendant and some plain clothes police men.
"I introduced myself and asked how he was. He acknowledged with a nod and said he was ok.
"By then the police and the hospital administrators stopped me going any further and ushered me out of the ward.
"Dr Shariq told me he was the first to attend to Mr Ramesh when the ambulance brought him to the trauma centre. Conscious and alert is how he described his condition."
The doctor said: "He was alright, had few cuts on his hands and face. There was nothing majorly wrong at all. He limped a bit. But he was mentally shaken up."
'Miracle' in seat 11A
Former US Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector David Soucie explained how the location of Ramesh's seat on the plane makes it even harder to believe that he survived.
The CNN safety analyst told the outlet that his seat is 'right where the spar of the wing would go under and it would be a solid place for the aircraft to hit the ground, but as far as survivability above it, that is incredibly surprising'.
CNN has reported that at least 290 people are feared to have died, according to a senior doctor at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where many of the dead and injured were taken.
Topics: Air India, Travel, UK News, News, World News
Anish Vij