‘I noticed folks dying in entrance of my eyes’: British survivor describes Air India crash | Air India Ahmedabad airplane crash

[ad_1] The British survivor of the Air India airplane crash has described the horror of watching folks “dying in entrance of my eyes”.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh mentioned he thought he was lifeless when the airplane crashed right into a constructing, earlier than realising he was alive and escaping the wreckage.

Talking from his hospital mattress, the 40-year-old advised DD Information the airplane felt prefer it was “caught within the air” shortly after takeoff earlier than lights started flickering inexperienced and white, including: “It out of the blue slammed right into a constructing and exploded.”

<gu-island name="YoutubeBlockComponent" priority="critical" deferuntil="visible" props="{"id":"28ee8c1f-4c70-4141-b748-ba26925732ee","assetId":"y8W9mJxnI6E","index":3,"format":{"design":0,"display":0,"theme":0},"isMainMedia":false,"expired":false,"posterImage":[{"url":"https://media.guim.co.uk/2e35b54a9379fc74097fb72425759b6e671324eb/0_309_590_332/500.jpg","width":500},{"url":"https://media.guim.co.uk/2e35b54a9379fc74097fb72425759b6e671324eb/0_309_590_332/140.jpg","width":140},{"url":"https://media.guim.co.uk/2e35b54a9379fc74097fb72425759b6e671324eb/0_309_590_332/590.jpg","width":590}],"duration":31,"mediaTitle":"Footage appears to shows British survivor of Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad – video","origin":"https://www.theguardian.com","stickyVideos":false,"enableAds":true,"iconSizeOnDesktop":"large","iconSizeOnMobile":"large","showTextOverlay":false,"hidePillOnMobile":false}"> Footage seems to reveals British survivor of Air India airplane crash in Ahmedabad – video <gu-island name="RichLinkComponent" priority="feature" deferuntil="idle" props="{"richLinkIndex":4,"element":{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"Who were the British victims of the Air India plane crash?","elementId":"f0289488-6abe-4ecd-9417-93c813b26532","role":"richLink","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/13/who-were-the-british-victims-of-the-air-india-plane-crash-flight-ai171-ahmedabad-survivor"},"ajaxUrl":"https://api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk","format":{"design":0,"display":0,"theme":0}}"/> The Boeing 787 Dreamliner struck a medical school because it crashed in a fireball on Thursday , killing the opposite 241 folks onboard. It is among the deadliest airplane crashes when it comes to the variety of British nationals killed, and the primary involving a 787.

Ramesh mentioned: “I can’t imagine how I got here out of it alive. For a second, I felt like I used to be going to die too however after I opened my eyes and regarded round, I realised I used to be alive. I nonetheless can’t imagine how I survived.”

Ramesh advised the broadcaster: “When the flight took off, inside 5 to 10 seconds it felt prefer it was caught within the air. Instantly, the lights began flickering – inexperienced and white.

<gu-island name="InteractiveBlockComponent" priority="critical" deferuntil="idle" props="{"url":"https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/06/archive-zip/giv-32554Uzv35bm25qjD/","scriptUrl":"https://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/iframe-wrapper/0.1/boot.js","alt":"Plane seating plan ","format":{"design":0,"display":0,"theme":0},"elementId":"69ad3a61-204c-4ed4-99ff-ff0be2939d31","isMainMedia":false}"> Plane seating plan “The plane wasn’t gaining altitude and was simply gliding earlier than it out of the blue slammed right into a constructing and exploded. At first, I believed I used to be lifeless. Later, I realised I used to be nonetheless alive and noticed a gap within the fuselage.

“I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push by way of that opening, and crawled out. I don’t understand how I survived,” he mentioned. “I noticed folks dying in entrance of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two folks I noticed close to me ... I walked out of the rubble.”

Ramesh was returning to the UK, the place he has lived for 20 years, after visiting household in India. One among his brothers, talking outdoors the household residence in Leicester , mentioned Ramesh had “no concept” how he escaped.

Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, added: “We had been simply shocked as quickly as we heard it. I final spoke to him yesterday morning. We’re devastated, simply devastated. He mentioned: ‘I don't know how I exited the airplane.’”

A relative added: “He’s doing nicely I feel. It’s an enormous shock. I don’t have many phrases to explain the incident.”

Dr Dhaval Gameti, who handled Ramesh, mentioned: “He was disorientated, with a number of accidents throughout his physique. However he appears to be out of hazard.”

<gu-island name="InteractiveBlockComponent" priority="critical" deferuntil="idle" props="{"url":"https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/06/indiacrash-zip/giv-325544mEDVZd2eVnH","scriptUrl":"https://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/iframe-wrapper/0.1/boot.js","alt":"Airport map","role":"supporting","format":{"design":0,"display":0,"theme":0},"elementId":"824eb285-28a2-40b3-8ae5-c1d5bb720ca4","isMainMedia":false}" data-spacefinder-role="supporting"> Airport map The crash website was visited by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Friday, with video footage displaying him speaking to Ramesh in hospital.

No less than 5 medical college students had been killed and about 50 injured. There are fears the variety of folks killed on the bottom may rise. Investigations are persevering with into the reason for the crash.

A British couple, Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who ran a non secular wellness centre, had been mentioned to be among the many lifeless, whereas the Gloucester Muslim Neighborhood group supplied “honest and deepest condolences” after Akeel Nanabawa, his spouse, Hannaa, and their four-year-old daughter, Sara, had been reported to be among the many victims.

Raj Mishra, the mayor of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, known as for folks to return collectively as he introduced the deaths of “Raxa Modha, toddler Rudra Modha, and Ms Ok Mistri” in his constituency.

Aviation specialists have speculated in regards to the attainable causes of the crash, from each engines failing – probably on account of a chicken strike, as occurred within the “Miracle on the Hudson” in 2009 – to the flaps on the plane’s wings not being set to the proper place for takeoff.

The Air India chief govt, Campbell Wilson, visited the realm, in accordance with the BBC, however didn't take questions from the media.

The Overseas Workplace mentioned any British nationals requiring consular help, or who had considerations about household or mates, ought to name 020 7008 5000.