Miracle in Ahmedabad: Survivor of AI-171 Crash Relives Tragedy

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India AI-171 plane crash, shared his harrowing experience. He recounted that his seat, 11-A, ended up in a portion of the plane that struck the ground floor of the building. He managed to escape the wreckage, although he sustained burns to his left hand from the fire. He described the scene as a horrific tableau of the deceased. “The side where I was sitting wasn’t on the hostel side, it was the ground floor of the hostel,” he said, emphasizing the space that facilitated his escape. He added, “I don’t know how I survived.” He described the moment before the crash, when he thought he would not survive. The flight, destined for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad International Airport. All 241 people on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft died in the disaster, except for Ramesh. The plane crashed into a resident doctors’ hostel building near the airport. The flight, which departed on June 12, 2025, carried 169 Indian, 53 British, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian nationals. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar were at the controls. The aircraft sent a Mayday call before communication was lost with Air Traffic Control.