Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the devastating Air India AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad, shared the terrifying experience of narrowly escaping death in an interview with Doordarshan, shortly after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
A British citizen of Indian origin, Vishwash had been seated in Seat 11-A, near an emergency exit. That section of the aircraft, he explained, landed on the ground floor of the hostel building the plane crashed into — a detail that ultimately saved his life.
“The side where I was sitting wasn’t on the hostel side — it was the ground floor. I don’t know about others, but the place I was in had some space. As soon as the door broke, I saw an opening and escaped. I don’t know how I survived,” Vishwash recounted.
His left hand was burned when the aircraft caught fire. Recalling the grim aftermath, he said, “All I could see were bodies — passengers, crew members, air hostesses… it was horrific.”
Vishwash described the terrifying moments after takeoff, saying that within 5–10 seconds, the aircraft seemed stuck mid-air.
“The green and white lights came on. Then suddenly, it felt like the plane sped up and hit the building. It all happened in front of my eyes,” he said.
“For a moment, I thought I was going to die. But when I opened my eyes, I was still alive. I unbuckled my seat belt and somehow got out.”
He also recounted his interaction with PM Modi, who visited the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital earlier in the day.
“PM Modi asked me about the incident. I told him everything. People here are taking good care of me. Everyone is being very kind,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, the Prime Minister visited the crash site and met with injured passengers. He expressed grief over the loss of 241 lives, calling the tragedy “saddening” and offering condolences to the bereaved families.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as AI-171, had taken off from Ahmedabad International Airport en route to London Gatwick on June 12. Onboard were 242 people, including 12 crew members. The passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national.
The aircraft was captained by Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with over 8,200 flying hours, and co-piloted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flight experience.
According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the flight departed at 1:39 PM IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23 and issued a Mayday call shortly afterward. However, communication was lost soon after, and the aircraft crashed into a residential hostel building near the airport perimeter.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is currently underway by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).