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Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- General
- Saudi Gazette
Lone Air India survivor carries coffin of brother killed in crash
AHMEDABAD — The British man who was the sole survivor of last week's Air India plane crash has helped lay his brother to rest at a funeral in western India. Vishwashkumar Ramesh's brother Ajay was also on the ill-fated flight but did not survive the tragedy. A visibly upset Ramesh was one of the pall bearers who carried his brother's coffin to the crematorium in the town of Diu, his arm and face still covered in white bandages. He's spent most of the past five days in hospital. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed seconds after taking off on Thursday from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. At least 270 people were killed, most of them passengers. Ramesh's mother walked with the coffin in a blue sari along with other mourners, as he held it on his right shoulder. Several people from the town, which lost 14 other people to the crash, came out for the funeral even as the rain lashed the one is clear how Ramesh managed to survive. He even tried to go back to the blazing plane to search for his brother, one of the first responders at the scene told the a new video that emerged earlier this week, ambulance driver Satinder Singh Sandhu is the man seen guiding Ramesh to safety as he walks out of the crash site with flames and thick smoke billowing into the air behind a supervisor with the emergency ambulance services in Ahmedabad, says he had no idea who he was helping, or that Ramesh had escaped from the plane. He only found out later that day on the news that the man was the sole survivor of the Ramesh, 40, was in seat 11A on the flight. His brother is reported to have been sitting a few seats other passengers and crew were killed and nearly 30 people also died on the ground after the plane hurtled down and crashed into a doctor's Ramesh miraculously survived, managing to get out of the wreckage through an opening in the new video shows Sandhu, who's wearing a blue turban, walk up to Ramesh and guide him to said he was having lunch with his colleagues when he first noticed a "massive fire with thick smoke rising into the sky"."At first, we thought it might be a car accident or a gas cylinder blast. Soon, we learned it was a plane crash. I immediately instructed my team to bring an ambulance, and rushed to the site."Speaking to BBC Gujarati, Sandhu said that he was just trying to do his job. In his decades-long career, he said he had encountered many challenging what surprised him that day was how Ramesh, after being rescued, kept trying to go back to the site of the crash."He had no idea what he was doing. He kept going in and out of the complex. We told him to stop, and dragged him away to an ambulance so that he could receive medical care," Sandhu said."That's when he said to me that his relative was trapped inside and he wanted to go save him. We did not speak a word after that."Ramesh later told India's DD News that he was trying to go look for the scene, Sandhu spotted a security guard who seemed to have been injured in the impact. His clothes were partially burnt and Sandhu first helped him."I also saw a woman. She was screaming in horror. Her son who ran a tea stall had been killed in the crash."Moments later he saw Ramesh emerge from the crash site in a white had injuries on his face and burns on his arms and looked visibly upset, Sandhu said."At that point, we had no idea who the injured man was. I thought he was one of the doctors who lived in the college. Later, when we saw the news, we realised he was the lone survivor of the crash."Chirag, a member of Sandhu's ambulance team, told PTI news agency that Ramesh was telling someone on a video call that his relatives were at the crash first responders treated him for his injuries and rushed him to the trauma centre of a hospital his interview with DD News, Ramesh had said he could not believe that he came out of the wreckage alive."For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too, but when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive."I still can't believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble."The cause of the crash is not yet known. Officials are trying to decode the cockpit voice and flight data recorders — collectively known as the black box — recovered from the wreckage to piece together what happened. — BBC
Daily Express
14-06-2025
- General
- Daily Express
Missed by minutes: Woman escapes death in Air India crash
Published on: Saturday, June 14, 2025 Published on: Sat, Jun 14, 2025 Text Size: Bhoomi Chauhan, a 28-year-old student from Bristol, narrowly escaped death after missing her Air India flight to London by just 10 minutes. Delayed by heavy traffic en route to Ahmedabad airport, she was denied boarding despite having checked in online. Advertisement Moments later, while speaking with a travel agent about a refund, she learned that the plane—AI171—had crashed shortly after take-off, killing all 241 passengers, 12 crew, and at least 8 people on the ground. 'I was very angry and disappointed, but now I see it as a miracle,' she told BBC Gujarati. The tragedy claimed the lives of 53 Britons, including families from Gloucester and London. Emergency crews continued to sift through debris into Friday, seeking answers to the crash, which happened just 30 seconds after take-off. Only one passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, is known to have survived. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
West Australian
14-06-2025
- General
- West Australian
Air India crash: Woman says traffic jam meant she missed being on doomed flight by minutes
A woman has revealed she missed boarding the doomed Air India plane by mere minutes after being delayed in a traffic jam. Bhoomi Chauhan, 28, says she was meant to be on the flight that crashed soon after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing all but one person on board. The Bristol woman told BBC Gujarati that she had been in India on holiday and was scheduled to fly home on the flight headed to Gatwick Airport but airline officials would not let her board after she arrived late. Ms Chauhan said she was initially angry at missing her flight but now calls it a 'miracle'. 'We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration,' she told BBC . 'I was very disappointed. We left the airport and stood at a place to drink tea and after a while, before leaving... we were talking to the travel agent about how to get a refund for the ticket. 'There, I got a call that the plane had gone down.' BBC reports it checked the business administration student's digital boarding pass and it showed she had been allocated seat 36G. The airline said 230 passengers and 12 crew were on board when the plane went down — 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. Just one passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the crash. 'When I missed the flight, I was dejected,' Ms Chauhan said. 'Only thing that I had in mind was, 'If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane'. 'This is totally a miracle for me.'
Perth Now
14-06-2025
- General
- Perth Now
‘Miracle': Reason woman missed doomed flight by minutes
A woman has revealed she missed boarding the doomed Air India plane by mere minutes after being delayed in a traffic jam. Bhoomi Chauhan, 28, says she was meant to be on the flight that crashed soon after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing all but one person on board. The Bristol woman told BBC Gujarati that she had been in India on holiday and was scheduled to fly home on the flight headed to Gatwick Airport but airline officials would not let her board after she arrived late. Bhoomi Chauhan says it's a 'miracle' she wasn't on the doomed flight. Credit: x Ms Chauhan said she was initially angry at missing her flight but now calls it a 'miracle'. 'We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration,' she told BBC. 'I was very disappointed. We left the airport and stood at a place to drink tea and after a while, before leaving... we were talking to the travel agent about how to get a refund for the ticket. 'There, I got a call that the plane had gone down.' The Air India plane went down minutes after take-off. Credit: Unknown / X formerly Twitter BBC reports it checked the business administration student's digital boarding pass and it showed she had been allocated seat 36G. The airline said 230 passengers and 12 crew were on board when the plane went down — 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. Just one passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the crash. PM Narendra Modi meets crash survivor Vishwaskumar Ramesh. Credit: x 'When I missed the flight, I was dejected,' Ms Chauhan said. 'Only thing that I had in mind was, 'If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane'. 'This is totally a miracle for me.'
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Woman, 28, Says She Missed Air India Flight Because of Traffic: ‘A Miracle'
Bhoomi Chauhan, who was visiting India on holiday, said she was caught up in a traffic snag while en route to the Ahmedabad airport She said airline officials wouldn't let her board the plane after she arrived shortly before departure time Chauhan's digital boarding pass showed she would've sat in economy class had she been on the doomed flightA woman from Britain said bumper-to-bumper traffic caused her to miss the Air India flight to London that later crashed, killing 241 people in Ahmedabad, India, on Thursday, June 12. In an interview with BBC Gujarati, Bhoomi Chauhan, 28, of Bristol, England, who was visiting India on holiday, said that when she arrived at the airport shortly before the plane's departure, airline officials would not let her board. "We left the airport and stood at a place to drink tea and after a while, before leaving... we were talking to the travel agent about how to get a refund for the ticket,' Chauhan told the BBC, adding that she received a call that the plane went down. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft bound for London's Gatwick airport crashed shortly after takeoff. The airline stated that at the time of the flight, there were 230 passengers and 12 crew on board the aircraft. "The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national," the airline said in a statement via X. Of the 242 people on board the plane, only one person — a British man — survived the disaster, Air India said. "Air India offers its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased," the company further added. "Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones." BBC News reviewed Chauhan's digital boarding pass, which indicated she as assigned to economy class seat 36G. "When I missed the flight, I was dejected,' she further recalled. 'Only thing that I had in mind was, 'If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane.' " Chauhan acknowledged how lucky she was to have missed the flight. "This is totally a miracle for me,' she told the outlet. In an interview with DD News from his bed in Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, reportedly the sole survivor of the crash, said, 'I don't know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me… I walked out of the rubble,' per the Hindustan Times. 'Even I can't believe how I came out of it alive. For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive. I still can't believe how I survived,' Ramesh added. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. On Thursday, Air India announced that it has established friends and relatives assistance centers at Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Gatwick airports 'to provide support and take care of the needs of the families and loved ones of those on flight AI171.' 'These centres are facilitating the travel of family members to Ahmedabad,' the airline's statement continued. Additional reporting by Greta Bjornson. Read the original article on People
