Air India Sole Survivor Narrates How He Escaped Through Broken Fuselage

An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of a majority of the 221 passengers and crew onboard, alongside others on the ground. 

The aircraft, carrying a significant number of Indian nationals and 52 British citizens, collided with a building associated with Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital, amplifying the disaster's impact. Over 200 bodies have been recovered thus far from the crash site. Amidst the devastation, 40-year-old British businessman Vishwashkumar Ramesh emerged as the sole survivor. 

Speaking from his hospital bed, Ramesh recounted a sequence of events that included flickering cabin lights and an unsettling sensation of the plane being "stuck in the air" moments before it plummeted. He attributed his survival to the positioning of his seat, section 11A, which landed closer to the ground, enabling him to escape through a break in the fuselage.

"When the door broke, I saw space and I pushed myself through," Ramesh told DD News. 

He was later captured on video, limping away from the wreckage toward medical assistance. Dr. Dhaval Gameti, his attending physician, reported that while Ramesh sustained multiple injuries, his condition is no longer critical. The crash has plunged families in both India and the United Kingdom into mourning. Nayan Kumar Ramesh, brother to both Vishwashkumar and Ajay, who was also on the flight, expressed the family's distress, emphasising Vishwashkumar's primary concern for the well-being of Ajay.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site and met with survivors and bereaved families at the hospital, signalling the gravity of the situation. Authorities have launched an extensive investigation into the cause of the crash, focusing on potential issues with aviation safety protocols and aircraft maintenance, particularly for long-haul, high-capacity flights.