On Thursday, the London-bound Air India flight A171 crashed in a residential locality of Ahmedabad, India killing more than 260 people on board. Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed a few minutes after the flight had departed Ahmedabad, but there was a survivor.
Wishmash Kumar Ramesh was the only one who survived and now he has broken his silence over the crash, telling which seat he was occupying.
On Thursday, soon after taking off, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was flying to Gatwick, Ahmedabad in India, when it lost altitude abruptly and crashed in a residential locality. The aircraft was flying with 242 people on board and a total of over 260 people have been confirmed dead as the aircraft crashed.
There were pictures revealing how the plane ascended out of the runway and then sank and vanished behind trees, where it exploded into flames. The Guardian reported that the plane crashed into a hostel where medical students, doctors and their families were staying, at least 24 people on the ground were killed.
According to Reuters, there were 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants among the passengers. These were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. Additionally, the crewmembers were 10 cabin crew and two pilots.
Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran speaking to CNBC-TV18 in Ahmedabad said that the airline is making arrangements with Boeing and GE Aerospace to facilitate full utilization. They also possess a group of specialists on the ground to aid in the investigation.
I have also requested them to bring their best professionals to join us in this process. So they are quite supportive, he said.
Air India aircraft accident
Air India has said it would provide compensation to every family of the deceased and also pay all medical costs of the injured and also assist in the rebuilding of the infrastructure of the hostel where the crash took place.
We are thinking of and send our sincerest condolences to the families and loved ones of everyone affected by this tragedian. Our main concern right now is to take care of all the affected individuals and their families,” Chandrasekaran told in a statement. “Our efforts are maximum to help the emergency response teams on the site and to provide all possible help and care to the affected people.”
According to India home minister Amit Shah, he said that ‘the heat generated by burning jet fuel said there was not much chance that anyone would be able to escape on impact.
He said there was 125,000 litres of fuel in the plane and it caught heat hence there was no way anyone could be saved. He said the final number of the dead would be known after DNA testing on the victims was carried out.
At this moment, the reason behind the crash remains unknown. One of the two black boxes has been located by the search team.
Resident Poonam Patni told Agence France-Presse: ‘”When we came out at the place there were some bodies around and firefighters were putting off the fire. A lot of the bodies were burnt.”
Another witness said, “We watched as people of the building jumped off the second and third floor to safety. The aircraft was on fire. We assisted persons evacuate the building and took the wounded to hospital.”
Miracle lone survivor
One of the worst plane crashes in decades is the one in Ahmedabad. Nevertheless, though the tragedy is overwhelming, it creates a somewhat miraculous effect as well. One of the passengers was Vishwashkumar Ramesh, who survived. Talking to the BBC, the brother of Ramesh, Nayan Kumar, stated that he had “no idea” how his brother survived.
Nayan said it was good to see him [Vishwashkumar] doing fine and they were worried about his other brother Ajay who was also in the plane.
When we heard what had happened we were all in shock, just pure shock. Nayan went on, “Speechless.” He [Vishwashkumar] himself does not know how he survived, how he managed to get out the plane. By the time he called us he was more concerned about my other brother, ‘where is Ajay, where is Ajay.’ That is all he is thinking about just now.”
A different relative informed PA News Agency that Wishwashkumar had “a few injuries on his face,” and that he was “covered in blood,” but “fine.”
Social media videos demonstrated how Vishwashkumar strolled towards an ambulance as smoke filled the background. Later, he encountered Indian Interior Minister Amit Shah in the hospital where he was lying in Ned. Dr Dhaval Gameti who operated the lone survivor stated, “He was in a disorientated condition and had several 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. In an interview with the Hindustan Times, the lone survivor of the tragic Air India plane crash told how he just walked out of the plane and saw bodies all around. He was sitting in the 11A seat.
After takeoff, I heard a loud noise and the plane crashed 30 seconds later. Everything happened so fast,” said Vishwaskumar, who retained his boarding pass, and had what he termed impact injuries, such as bruises on his feet, eyes and chest.
As I arose bodies were all about me. I felt frightened. I arose and fled. I was surrounded by pieces of the plane. A person just took me, put me in an ambulance and took me to the hospital.”
Our thoughs and prayers are with the vicims and their families.
