The Air India flight A171 going to London crashed in a residential place in Ahmedabad, India on Thursday killing more than 260 people. Minutes after Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had taken off Ahmedabad, it crashed but there was one survivor.
The only survivor was Wishmash Kumar Ramesh and he has been the first to talk about the crash and what seat he was occupying.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was on its way to Gatwick, UK, at Ahmedabad in India when, on Thursday, it lost height unexpectedly soon after takeoff and crashed in a residential place. The plane was holding 242 people on board and over 260 people in total have been confirmed dead as the plane crashed.
There were clips of how the plane flew off the runway and then fell back down and went out of sight behind trees, where it erupted in flames. The Guardian quotes the plane as having crashed into a hostel, which was filled with medical students, doctors and their families, of which at least 24 people on the ground were killed.
According to Reuters, the passengers were comprised of 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants. These were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. In addition to that, there were two pilots and 10 cabin crew members.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18 in Ahmedabad, Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said that the company is busy liaising with Boeing and GE Aerospace in ensuring that they give full support. They also have a group of specialists on the ground to help in investigation.
I have also requested them to bring their top professionals to be with us in this process. He said: They are so helpful.
Air India aircraft accident
Air India has already stated that they will provide compensation to every family of the deceased and also stated that they would meet all the medical costs of those who were injured and also assist in the reconstruction of the infrastructure of the hostel where the crash happened.
We are thinking of and send our sincerest condolences to the families and loved ones of everyone affected by this tragedian. Our first priority remains the support of all the affected people and their families at this moment,” Chandrasekaran said in a statement. It is stated that, “We are trying our level best to help the emergency response units on the site and to give all possible help and care to the affected people.”
According to India home minister Amit Shah, he said that the burning jet fuel elevated the temperature hence; there was a slim chance that anyone could escape upon impact.
The plane had 125,000 litres of fuel aboard and it got hot therefore no one could be saved, he said. The total number of those who perished will be established after DNA testing on the victims was done.
At this point, the reason behind the crash remains unidentified. One of the two black boxes has been located by the search team.
Resident Poonam Patni told Agence France-Presse: ‘”When we came out there were several bodies around and firefighter men were putting off the flames. A lot of corpses were burnt.”
Another witness added: We could see people of the building jumping off the second and third floor in order to save themselves. The aircraft was on fire. We assisted in evacuating people out of the building and transported the wounded to hospital.”
Miracle sole-survivor
One of the worst plane crashes in decades is the one that happened in Ahmedabad. Nevertheless, as tragic as the magnitude is, there is also a rather miraculous result of it. One of the survivors was Vishwashkumar Ramesh. Talking to the BBC, the brother of Ramesh, Nayan Kumar, said that he had “no idea” how his brother survived.
Nayan said it was a great feeling to see his brother [Vishwashkumar] doing well and they were also concerned about the other brother Ajay who was also on board.
When we heard what had happened we were all in shock, absolute shock. Nayan went on, “Speechless.” He [Vishwashkumar] himself does not know how he survived, how he managed to get out the plane. When he called us he was only more concerned about my other brother, as in ‘Where is Ajay, where is Ajay.’ That is all he is thinking of just now.”
Wishwashkumar had “some injuries on his face,” another relative told PA News Agency, and that he was “painted in blood, but doing well.”
Social media videos demonstrated how Vishwashkumar, with smoke in the background, walked towards an ambulance. Later, he lay in Ned and met Indian Interior Minister Amit Shah in the hospital. Dr Dhaval Gameti who operated the lone survivor stated, he was disorientated and had numerous injuries on his body. but he appears to be out of danger.
Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a survivor, was sitting in 11A
According to the BBC, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, is an Indian-born businessman who has been residing in the UK since 2003. He is married with a four year old son. The only survivor of the fatal Air India plane crush spoke to the Hindustan Times about how he just stepped out of the plane and found bodies everywhere. He was sitting at seat 11A.
We took off and 30 seconds later I heard a loud bang and the plane crashed. everything just happened so fast,” said Vishwaskumar, who retained his boarding pass, and had what he called impact injuries, bruises on his feet, eyes and chest.
As I awoke I found bodies all about me. I felt frightened. I arose, and fled. I saw fragments of the plane all over me. I was picked up by someone and placed in an ambulance and brought to the hospital.”
Our thoughs and prayers are with the vicims and their families.