The tragic Air India plane crash has claimed 279 lives — 241 passengers and crew on board, and 38 on the ground. Only one person on the flight survived: 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British citizen.
The situation could have been even worse. Reports say the pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, made a last-second decision to steer the plane away from Civil Hospital Ahmedabad — a large medical facility with over 3,000 beds, just 5 km from the airport. Had the crash occurred there, the loss could have been far greater.
Ramesh is now sharing his story from the hospital. But many are finding it hard to believe. Some officials have raised eyebrows, saying, “The more he talks, the more suspicious it gets.” CCTV footage shows him calmly walking away from the wreckage.
Speaking to the media, Ramesh said he managed to unbuckle himself and kick open an already broken emergency exit.
“My seat was broken, the door was broken. I saw an opening, so I just got out,” he told Daily Mail.
A flight simulation has shown possible ways he may have survived. Still, the fact that he escaped unhurt — with only a few bruises — while all others perished, is raising serious questions.
Ramesh, who was born in India but has lived in the UK since 2003, was on the flight with his brother, who sadly did not survive. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited him in the hospital and wished him a speedy recovery.
Meanwhile, identifying the bodies is proving difficult. The intense fire caused extreme burns, and DNA tests are being done round the clock. Temperatures reportedly reached 1,500°C (2,700°F) at the crash site.
Dr. HP Sanghvi, head of the Gandhinagar Forensic Science Lab, explained: “Such high temperatures damage DNA in many parts of the body. We’re working 24/7 to match samples with the victims’ families.”
Though suspicions remain, many people believe Ramesh simply got lucky — and hope he recovers fully.