One Man Miraculously Survives Air India Crash but Hundreds Die (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News
LONDON/AHMEDABAD (Worthy News) – Amid the smoldering wreckage of an Air India passenger jet that crashed moments after taking off from the Indian city of Ahmedabad, all but one of the 242 people aboard miraculously survived, while dozens of others died on the ground, police and witnesses said.
A senior police official in Ahmedabad, Vishakha Dabral, said Friday that 269 bodies had been taken to the main hospital there so far. He added that the exact toll would emerge only after DNA testing, with officials suggesting the final death toll could approach nearly 300.
The plane crashed into a medical college hostel housing scores of junior doctors and students a mile (1.6 kilometers) southwest of Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
As night fell and smoke hung in the air over parts of this western Indian city, heavy machines worked to untangle charred pieces of the aircraft at the crash site, and their operators treaded carefully to avoid all-out structural collapses.
Rescue personnel at the site, as well as doctors and security officials, suggested that as many as three dozen people who were caught in the path of the crashing plane had been killed on the ground.
Air India confirmed that only one passenger had survived the crash. The man, identified as Viswash Kumar Ramesh, from London, described seeing bodies all around him after the crash.
JUMPING OUT
Worthy News observed footage showing Ramesh bloodied and limping as he walked to an ambulance. Police said he had been sitting in an emergency exit row and managed to jump out.
“Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise, and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” Ramesh, who still had his boarding pass, told the Hindustan Times newspaper. He said he had “impact injuries”, including bruising on his chest, eyes, and feet, but was otherwise lucid and conscious.
“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.”
The Ahmedabad police commissioner, Gyanendra Singh Malik, told the media that he had been in seat 11A, which corresponded to Ramesh’s seat on the flight manifest.
He has been in a hospital ward since he exited the aircraft. The man could be seen sitting up in bed, conscious but with a lot of bruising on his arms and face.
Local doctors said the British man “has been walking and, other than a few scratches, all of the tests they have performed show he is miraculously unharmed.”
ON VACATION
The survivor’s brother, Nayan Ramesh, told the media that “Viswash had been on vacation” with another brother, Ajay, who was also on the plane. “Everyone is completely devastated and just in shock,” Nayan Ramesh said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the plane to crash, which was bound for London Gatwick Airport. Officials at the crash site said the aircraft most likely skidded after it came down, damaging buildings before bursting into flames. Sections of the plane, including its tail, were left jutting out of the damaged school dining hall.
Video verified by Worthy News, taken from the rooftop of a building about 800 meters (half-mile) south of Ahmedabad’s airport, showed the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft descending steadily over buildings before crashing.
A large fireball is visible over the horizon after it crashed into the medical college hostel.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39 p.m. local time from runway 23. It issued an emergency “mayday” call after which nothing more was heard from the flight deck.
Men, women, and children, including infants, perished in the flames.
DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES
Air India said the plane had been carrying 169 Indian citizens, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. The authorities in Ahmedabad asked family members of passengers to submit DNA samples to help identify the bodies. Worthy News saw at least one body burned beyond recognition.
Nearby residents were in shock. “When we reached the spot, there were several bodies lying around, and firefighters were dousing the flames. Many of the bodies were burned,” recalled Poonam Patni.
Another witness, who did not want to be named, told reporters: “We saw people from the building [hit by the plane] jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames. We helped people get out of the building and sent the injured to the hospital.”
A doctor named Krishna said that “the nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch.” He said he saw “about 15 to 20 burned bodies” while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.
Among those killed aboard the plane were Britons Akeel Nanabawa and Hannaa Vorajee, who died alongside their four-year-old daughter Sara in the Air India crash. Friends described Sara as a “ray of sunshine” who “lit up the classroom”.
The headteacher of her primary school, Abdullah Samad, said the couple were well-known for their charity work and generosity. “They helped fundraise for the humanitarian efforts in Gaza and medical care for poor individuals in India. That was part of their service to the community,” he recalled.
LENGTHY INVESTIGATION
Authorities cautioned it could take months or years to determine the cause of the crash, but safety experts questioned why the plane appeared to descend very soon after it took off.
Footage seen by Worthy News showed the landing gear had not been retracted shortly before the crash.
The type of plane involved in Thursday’s crash had reportedly been under scrutiny due to technical issues.
Yet this was the first fatal crash with the Dreamliner since the widebody, twin-engine planes went into service in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg cancelled plans to attend the Paris Air Show next week, where the latest state-of-the-art flying technologies are being shown and discussed.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” said Ortberg, adding that he told Air India’s chairman Boeing would support the probe.
STILL FLYING
However, U.S. officials said on Thursday they have not seen any immediate safety data that would require halting
Boeing 787 flights despite the Air India accident, killing hundreds.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Acting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) head Chris Rocheleau made the remarks at a news conference after seeing videos of the crash in India.
Duffy stressed he had spoken to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy. Duffy said an NTSB and FAA team, backed by Boeing and engine manufacturer GE Aerospace, was going to India to help Air India with the investigation.
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled carrier to private ownership after decades of government control. It has pledged to support families who lost their loved ones financially, cover the medical costs for those injured, and help rebuild the medical college hostel.
With the investigation ongoing, a new reality set in for those who lost their loved ones and injured survivors of the world’s deadliest civil aviation tragedy in a decade.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that scenes of the crash were “devastating.” Earlier, King Charles added that he and his wife, Queen Camilla, had been “desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad.”
Several prayers and religious services have been held in Britain and beyond to remember the victims and those impacted by the disaster.
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