One day after the tragic crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad that took away the lives of 241 people, the lone survivor of the flight, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, has broken his silence. The 40-year-old British national of Indian origin told his tragic experience as he lay hurt in a hospital bed at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where he is being treated now with burn injuries.
Talking to a news agency, Vishwash remembers the terrified moments immediately after the flight had taken off. He occupied seat 11A on the left side window in economy class and near an emergency exit. “I could not believe it myself that I came out alive, he said. I even thought I was going to die for a moment. However, as I opened my eyes and surveyed the surroundings, I noticed I was alive. I cannot to this day comprehend how I survived.”
Air India said that the plane had 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board. It only took off 33 seconds before it crashed in a residential area in Meghani Nagar. The scene of the crash was full of debris and wreckage, and a good part of the plane was on fire. It had on board 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
Kumar explained that the part of the plane he was in did not take off, but instead crashed into the buildings, while the other parts of the plane did. “I noticed the emergency exit, and I simply grabbed it. Perhaps the folks across the fence had not had that opportunity,” he said.
He also gave an account of how he witnessed the deaths of people seated next to him and crew members. He said, “I saw two people who were close to me… and the air hostesses. They failed to make it.”
On Friday, Narendra Modi, the prime minister, paid a visit to Kumar in the hospital. He enquired after my health and the manner in which it occurred. I said I was fine,” Kumar said, still very much rattled.
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