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Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sole survivor of Air India crash lays his brother to rest after leaving hospital
Leaving hospital with wounds still fresh, the sole survivor of last week's Air India plane crash solemnly carried the coffin of his brother, performing the last rites for a life lost in the deadly disaster. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, appeared overcome with grief as he led the funeral procession through the streets of the western Indian coastal town of Diu on Wednesday. Ramesh, who was discharged from hospital a day prior, had bandages on his face from cuts and bruises sustained after flight AI171 traveling to London's Gatwick Airport from the western city of Ahmedabad plunged to the ground seconds after takeoff last Thursday, killing 241 people on board. How Ramesh escaped with a few wounds is being described as nothing short of a miracle. 'I don't know how I survived,' he told Indian state broadcaster DD News while in the hospital, explaining how he unbuckled himself from his seat in 11A – an emergency exit seat – shortly after the crash and walked away from the scene. 'For some time, I thought I was going to die. But when I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,' he said. He and his brother, who had been sitting a few rows away, had been returning to the UK after spending a few weeks visiting family in India. Video of Ramesh stumbling from the crash has been viewed widely on news channels and across social media. Flames can be seen billowing behind him, with thick plumes of smoke rising high into the sky. Authorities tasked with identifying the victims' bodies have described just how difficult that process has been. High temperatures from the burning fuel left 'no chance' to rescue passengers, India's Home Minister Amit Shah said, making bodies difficult to recognize. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was carrying 125,000 liters – enough to last a 10-hour flight from Ahmedabad to London – but it crashed less than a minute after takeoff, plunging into a hostel for medical students, killing several on the ground. As of Thursday, more than 150 bodies have been handed over to loved ones, according to health officials, with funerals taking place in various cities across the country. Investigators, meanwhile, are looking at the wreckage to determine what could have caused one of the worst air crashes India has seen in decades. A mayday call from the cockpit was made to air traffic control shortly before the crash, Indian civil aviation authorities said. Both black boxes, the plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, are now being analyzed for valuable clues that could help determine the cause. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are leading the probe into the crash with assistance from the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as officials from Boeing. The Indian government has also set up a separate high-level committee to examine what led to the crash. The committee is expected to file their preliminary findings within three months. Air India – the country's flagship carrier – said on Wednesday it is conducting safety inspections across all of its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet. 'Out of total 33 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days,' it said in a statement on X. Meanwhile, it has reduced international services on its widebody aircraft by 15% due to the ongoing inspections and the conflict in the Middle East, it added. For days, families of victims have gathered near morgues awaiting to collect the bodies of their loved ones and searching for answers. As Ramesh laid his brother to rest Wednesday, another family around 160 miles south in the city of Mumbai, performed burials for four members killed in the crash. Imtiaz Ali Syed, 42, whose brother Javed, sister-in-law, nephew and niece were on board the Air India flight, said he received their bodies from authorities in Ahmedabad and brought them to the family's hometown on Wednesday. Javed and his family, who lived in London, were in Mumbai to visit his sick mother and celebrate Eid al-Adha, also known as Bakri Eid, Syed told CNN. It was the first time in 15 years that Syed and his three other siblings were all together, he said. Syed's sister, who also lives in the UK, took a direct flight from Mumbai to London, he said. But Javed and his family were on a different flight via Ahmedabad. He described his disbelief when he learned that Javed was on the ill-fated Air India plane. 'Someone woke me up and said a plane crashed in Ahmedabad and asked me to check what flight Javed was on,' Syed recalled. Syed fondly described his brother as someone who was 'always available' for their family. 'He looked after my grandmother's medicines, he looked after my mother, he would take care of our sister,' he said, describing the unbearable pain of losing Javed. 'Within a week or fifteen days, or a month, maybe he will call,' Syed said. 'Telling me he is somewhere.'
News18
3 days ago
- General
- News18
How Lone Survivor Of Air India Crash Escaped: Landed On Piled Up Soil Between Two Buildings
Last Updated: Top sources were quoted as saying British businessman Vishwas Kumar Ramesh landed in the narrow gap between two buildings where loose soil had been piled up, cushioning his fall His story is nothing short of a miracle, but the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash has said his astonishing escape was a combination of fortune and quick decision making in identifying a crucial space amidst the wreckage and acting fast. Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the 40-year-old British businessman from Leicester, reportedly landed on loose soil piled up in a narrow gap between two buildings when the flight crashed into the residential quarters of the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad. The video in which he can be seen walking out of the campus amid utter devastation, has gone viral. One of the worst aviation tragedies in India, the crash killed 241 passengers and crew members on board the London-bound flight. Only Vishwas Kumar Ramesh survived, seated on 11A close to the emergency door on the left side of the ill-fated Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Top sources told India Today TV that Ramesh landed in the narrow gap between two buildings where loose soil had been piled up, cushioning his fall and saving his life. There was an internal explosion after the aircraft crashed into the building, and many have said he could not have escaped unscathed. But his survival is now being attributed to the spot he landed on. In fact, he has told DD News in an interview that the portion of the plane where he was seated fell on the ground floor of the hostel premises. 'Luckily, the portion of the plane where I was seated fell on the ground floor of the hostel premises after the plane crash landed. When I saw that the door of the plane was broken, I told myself 'I can try and get out'. Eventually, I got out of the plane," Ramesh said. 'I believe that others could not escape because there was a wall on that side (of the hostel) while there was a small gap where I was sitting. I still can't believe how I survived the crash because I saw people dying in front of my eyes," he told DD News. He added: 'Though I managed to escape, my left hand got burnt as the plane caught fire after the crash. I walked out of the aircraft and then an ambulance brought me to hospital." In a viral video shot by a local resident immediately after the crash, he can be seen walking towards the ambulance after getting hurt in the crash. 'It all happened in front of my eyes. I cannot believe how I survived…For a brief moment, I felt I was about to die but when my eyes opened, I was alive. I unbuckled myself from the seat and exited from an opening," he said. Police have confirmed that at least 265 people, including those on the ground, were killed in the tragedy. Four MBBS students and a doctor's wife were among those killed at the complex of BJ Medical College located outside the airport perimeter. (With PTI inputs)
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
PM Modi makes it clear to Trump: US played no role in India-Pakistan ceasefire
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi told US President Donald Trump during a 35-minute telephonic conversation that there was no third-party involvement in ceasefire talks between India and Pakistan, countering a claim Trump has repeatedly made. Modi told Trump 'clearly' that during entire Operation Sindoor there were no discussions at any level on India-US trade deal or any mediation by the US for ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a video on X posted by DDNews. India-Pakistan tensions flared up after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7. In response, Pakistan tried to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. India hit back firmly in response to the Pakistani actions. Trump has repeatedly claimed he played a role in ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He had also claimed that trade talks played a role in what he has called a ceasefire but India has termed a mere cessation of hostilities. Notably, India has said that Operation Sindoor is only suspended, and Pakistan is under watch. In one such instances of Trump claiming the US role in India-Pakistan ceasefire, the US President had said in May, "If you take a look at what we just did with Pakistan and India. We settled that whole, and I think I settled it through trade." Trump added, "And I said, 'What are you guys doing?' Somebody had to be the last one to shoot. But the shooting was getting worse and worse, bigger and bigger, deeper and deeper into the countries. And we spoke to them, and I think we, you know, I hate to say we got it settled, and then two days later, something happens, and they say it's Trump's fault." Live Events (more to come)
Telegraph
5 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
New video shows sole Air India survivor walking away from crash
New video footage has shown the British sole survivor of the Air India crash walking away from its fiery wreckage. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, walked away from the crash of Air India flight 171 after climbing out of the broken emergency exit door next to him. Footage shows Mr Ramesh emerging from the crash site as smoke billows behind him. Wearing a white T-shirt, he was spotted by a passer-by and taken to safety. Mr Ramesh had been sitting in seat 11A on the plane, next to the emergency doors over the front of the wings. It is the structurally most robust part of a plane and gives passengers the best chance of escaping a crash if they survive the initial impact. His brother, Ajay, is thought to have died in the disaster. Mr Ramesh told last week of how he saw air hostesses die before him as he made his escape. The businessman, who had been flying back to the UK after tending to his business in India, told the Indian state broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed: 'I don't believe how I survived. For some time I thought I was also going to die. 'But when I opened my eyes I realised I was alive, and I tried to unbuckle myself from the seat and escape from where I could. '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.' Mr Ramesh continued: 'The side of the plane I was in landed on the ground, and I could see that there was space outside the aircraft. So when my door broke I tried to escape through it, and I did. 'The opposite side of the aircraft was blocked by a building wall [of a doctors' hostel where the plane crashed], so nobody could have come out of there.' He said the plane appeared to almost come to a standstill in mid-air for a few seconds shortly after take-off, and the green and white cabin lights were flickering. He added that he could feel the engine thrust increasing, but then the plane 'crashed with speed'. Doctors told local media that Mr Ramesh did not sustain any major injuries, and he said he walked out of the crash site with only burn injuries on his left arm. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash was one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British nationals killed, and the first involving a 787-8.
eNCA
14-06-2025
- General
- eNCA
Death toll in India plane crash rises to at least 279
The death toll from the fiery crash of a London-bound passenger jet in an Indian city climbed to 279 on Saturday as officials sought to match the DNA of victims with their grieving relatives. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday, bursting into a fireball as it hit residential buildings. A police source said on Saturday that 279 bodies had been found at the crash site in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, making it one of the worst plane disasters of the 21st century. "Nobody can fill the void left by loss," said Imtiyaz Ali, whose younger brother boarded the plane. "I can't even begin to explain what's going on inside me," he told AFP. There was just one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the jet when it crashed, leaving the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of a hostel for medical staff. Emergency services kept up their recovery efforts on Saturday, extracting a badly burnt body from the tailpiece before cranes were used to remove the wreckage. At least 38 people were killed on the ground. "I saw my child for the first time in two years, it was a great time," said Anil Patel, whose son and daughter-in-law had surprised him with a visit before boarding the Air India flight. "And now, there is nothing," he said, breaking down in tears. "Whatever the gods wanted has happened." - Search for black box - Distraught relatives of passengers have been providing DNA samples in Ahmedabad, with some having to fly to India to help with the process. The first body of a passenger to be handed over to relatives was placed in a white coffin on Saturday before being transported in an ambulance with a police escort, footage from the state government showed. AFP | Punit PARANJPE Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. The official casualty number will not be finalised until the slow process of DNA identification is completed. Those killed ranged from a top politician to a teenage tea seller. The lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, said even he could not explain how he survived. "Initially, I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive," Ramesh, a British citizen, told national broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed. Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said on Friday that a flight data recorder, or black box, had been recovered, saying it would "significantly aid" investigations. Forensic teams are still looking for the second black box as they probe why the plane lost height and crashed straight after takeoff. AFP | Punit PARANJPE The aviation minister said on Saturday that authorities "felt the need to do an extended surveillance of the Boeing 787 planes", with eight out of Air India's 34 Dreamliners inspected so far. Officials will take "whatever necessary steps are needed" to determine the cause of the disaster as soon as possible, he said. The US planemaker said it was in touch with Air India and stood "ready to support them" over the incident. A source close to the case said it was the first 787 Dreamliner crash.
