40-year-old claims he survived Air India crash: ‘I woke up surrounded by bodies’

Ahmedabad: “When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran.” These chilling words from Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old survivor of Thursday’s devastating Air India crash, capture the harrowing aftermath of the tragedy that unfolded just moments after take-off.

Lying in a general ward bed at Civil Hospital, Asarwa in Ahmedabad, Vishwash recounted the terrifying moments that changed his life. “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” he told Hindustan Times.

The Gatwick-bound Air India flight a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 people, including crew, had lifted off from Ahmedabad airport at 1:39 pm. Within minutes, it crashed and burst into flames, scattering wreckage and sending emergency services into high alert.

Vishwash, who suffered impact injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet, said someone pulled him to safety and rushed him to the hospital. “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, still clutching his boarding pass.

Originally from India, Vishwash had been visiting family and was returning to London, where he has lived for two decades with his wife and child. He was travelling with his brother, 45-year-old Ajay Kumar Ramesh, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Air India confirmed that 169 of the 230 passengers on board were Indian nationals. Others included 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian national.