Ahmedabad: Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British-Indian who miraculously survived the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, remains in shock as he recovers in hospital. “I don’t know how I came out of it alive,” he told Doordarshan on Friday morning, his voice still trembling from the trauma.
Kumar, who was seated in 11A near the emergency exit, recalled the terrifying moments when the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London, crashed into the doctors’ hostel adjacent to BJ Medical College shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
“A minute after the takeoff, it felt like the plane got stuck. Then green and white lights flashed,” he said. “They [the pilots] tried to lift the plane again but it just went full speed and crashed into the building.”
The emergency exit apparently dislodged on impact, giving Kumar a narrow path to survival. “I opened my seatbelt and got out from the ground floor. The wall was on the other side… no one could come out from there,” he said.
Kumar’s right arm suffered burns from the fire that erupted moments after the crash. “In front of my eyes, two airhostesses…,” he paused, choking on his words, overwhelmed by the memory. “The airhostess and aunty-uncle near me… all died right before my eyes.”
Kumar is among the few who lived to tell the tale of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters. The crash, which occurred Thursday afternoon, claimed the lives of 241 people onboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew. The flight was carrying a large amount of highly inflammable aviation fuel, which ignited a massive fireball on impact. Thick plumes of smoke billowed over the city, visible for miles.
The destruction extended beyond the aircraft. The plane tore through the doctors’ hostel of BJ Medical College, killing at least five MBBS students, one postgraduate resident doctor, and the wife of a senior superspecialist. Over 60 medical students sustained injuries.
There is still no official death toll from the hostel. Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that a definitive count will be confirmed after DNA testing is completed.
Of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who served as Gujarat’s chief minister for over a decade, visited the crash site Friday morning and met with survivors, including Kumar, at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Modi expressed deep sorrow. “It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,” he wrote. “Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.”
As investigations continue into what caused the aircraft to lose altitude and strike the hostel, survivors like Kumar are left piecing together the fragments of a catastrophe that has changed their lives forever.
