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CNN
2 days ago
- General
- CNN
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.'
CNA
2 days ago
- General
- CNA
Air India crash survivor mourns brother killed in the same tragedy during emotional funeral
Ramesh Viswashkumar, the sole survivor of the deadly Air India plane crash, broke down as the body of his brother arrived in his hometown of Diu city, India on Wednesday (Jun 18). Viswashkumar and his brother were on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for Britain's Gatwick Airport on Jun 12, when the plane began losing altitude seconds after takeoff and crashed, killing over 270 people.
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Lone survivor of Air India crash farewells brother as investigations continue into crash
Just days after being discharged from hospital, the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash has farewelled his brother, who died in the disaster. With bandages still on his face, Viswashkumar Ramesh helped carry his brother Ajay's coffin through the town of Diu on India's west coast on Wednesday, local time. He was clearly distressed and consoled by family members. Mourners packed the streets to farewell the English businessman's brother, who was sitting just a few rows from him six days ago when flight AI171 bound for London crashed in the suburbs of Ahmedabad. All of the other 241 other passengers died, along with at least 30 people on the ground and five medical students. Mr Ramesh remarkably survived the horror, managing to walk to find medical help. Other funeral services for victims took place across the country, but some families were still waiting for the relatives to be returned to them. Distraught relatives have been providing DNA samples to help identify their loved ones, in a painstakingly slow process. As of Wednesday, the medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Rakesh Joshi, told journalists that 208 victims had been identified. The funerals took place as Air India's chairman confirmed that the crashed Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had no record of engine problems. In an interview with Indian broadcaster Times Now, Natarajan Chandrasekaran said Air India flight 171's right engine was new and installed in March 2025, and that the left engine was last serviced in 2023. Experts from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are probing the crash with assistance from the UK, the US and officials from Boeing. A definitive cause could take several months or even years to determine. Following the crash, India's aviation safety regulator has ordered deeper checks on the Boeing 787 aircraft operated by Air India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that Air India had cancelled 83 wide-body flights, including 66 Dreamliners since the new checks were imposed. However, it said no "major safety concerns" had been found. Air India said it would cut international wide-body aircraft flights by 15 per cent for the next few weeks. It cited additional safety checks and operational disruption as reasons for the move. The airline said in a statement that inspections had been completed on 26 of its 33 Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft, and those 26 have been cleared for service. The cuts, effective until at least mid-July, were being implemented "to ensure stability of operations, better efficiency and minimise inconvenience to passengers," the Tata Group-owned airline said. The remaining planes will be checked in the coming days, and additional checks are also planned for its Boeing 777 fleet, Air India added. ABC/wires
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Sole India plane crash survivor mourns his brother during funeral
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, helped carry his brother's flower-heaped coffin to a crematorium in the western Indian coastal town of Diu, days after they plummeted into the ground shortly after takeoff. All 241 other passengers and crew onboard the flight died, as did at least 30 people on the ground, including five medical students
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Air India crash survivor attends brother's funeral as investigators examine plane's emergency systems
The sole survivor of the catastrophic Air India crash has helped carry his brother's flower-heaped coffin to a crematorium in the western Indian coastal town of Diu, days after they plummeted into the ground moments after takeoff. With bandages still on his face and arm, the 40-year-old businessman based in Leicester – who had been released from hospital on Tuesday – broke into sobs and was consoled by relatives. Just six days earlier, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh had been sitting with his brother, Ajay, on the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner that slammed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad after taking off. All 241 other passengers and crew aboard the flight last Thursday died, as did at least 30 people on the ground, including five medical students. Vishwash Kumar and his brother, who was sitting a few rows away, had been heading back to the UK after holidaying with their family in India. Vishwash Kumar escaped through a small space by his seat and stumbled through the flames and smoke into the arms of rescuers. The streets were filled with mourners as he walked with his brother's coffin on his shoulder, his mother beside him in a monsoon-rain-drenched blue sari. More than a dozen of the crash victims were from Diu, a beach town on the Arabian Sea once ruled by the Portuguese. The funeral was held as The Wall Street Journal reported that investigators examining last week's deadly crash of Air India Flight 171 believe the aircraft's emergency power system – known as a ram air turbine (RAT) – was deployed during takeoff. Establishing the definitive cause of the crash could take years. But the preliminary finding prompts new questions about whether the plane's engines functioned properly in the crucial moments after takeoff. Flight data from Flightradar24 showed that the Dreamliner climbed to 625 feet. Moments before the plane crashed, the pilot made a distress call: 'Thrust not achieved … falling … Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!' A CCTV video clip showed the plane beginning to descend around 17 seconds after takeoff. The RAT is a small propeller that drops from the underside of the Dreamliner's fuselage to provide emergency electricity. While the engines usually supply power for electrical and flight-control systems, the RAT is designed to step in when normal systems fail. It is considered a last resort in aviation emergencies. 'The most common occurrence is when a pilot thinks that both engines failed,' Anthony Brickhouse, a US-based aerospace safety consultant, told the WSJ. He noted that in commercial aviation, 'a dual engine failure is extremely rare … Our engines today are more efficient and reliable than ever'. Though widely praised for its fuel efficiency and long range, the 787 Dreamliner has been dogged by quality control issues. Last week's crash was the first fatal incident involving a 787, but its fallout could be far-reaching. Boeing, which manufactures the aircraft, and GE Aerospace, which makes the engines, declined to comment, the newspaper said. Findings from the wreckage suggest the flaps and other control surfaces were correctly configured for takeoff, indicating the flight crew followed standard procedures, the WSJ said, citing investigators. The report comes a day after India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), said its own inspections found no 'major safety concerns' in the Dreamliner fleet but did flag recurring maintenance issues. Air India's chair, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, told the Times Now Indian news channel on Wednesday that the aircraft had nothing of concern in its maintenance history. He said the right engine was installed in March, and the left engine was serviced in 2023. Chandrasekaran added he expected preliminary findings to be out in 30 days. 'Everybody needs closure,' he said. 'We need to know.' So far, DNA tests have identified 190 of the badly burned victims, and the bodies of 19 have been handed to their families, the Press Trust of India reported. Forensic teams are working around the clock to identify the victims. As of Wednesday, at least 13 Dreamliner flights were grounded and the DGCA confirmed that a total of 66 Boeing 787 flights had been cancelled since the crash. Air India officials cited 'technical issues' and 'extended precautionary checks' as the reasons for the cancelled flights. The schedule disruptions are the latest blow to the Tata Group-owned airline's ambitious overhaul of the former state-owned carrier, and the timing could not be worse, with summer travel demand surging.
