Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the sole survivor of the devastating Air India crash, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, who is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ramesh, who lost his brother Ajay Kumar Rakesh, 45, in the crash, recounted the traumatic experience to the Prime Minister during their emotional meeting.
“My brother was seated in a different row and didn’t survive. I still don’t know how I made it out alive,” Ramesh told Modi.
He described the terrifying moments just before the crash. “After take-off, the aircraft seemed to stall briefly. Then it suddenly nosedived and crashed into the building. I was on the opposite side of where the plane hit. That saved me. For a while, I thought I was going to die. Everything happened in front of my eyes -- the noise, the impact, the fire. I somehow found a small space to escape,” he recalled.
Despite suffering injuries, Ramesh managed to walk away from the wreckage and is now receiving medical care.
Prime Minister Modi also visited the Civil Hospital, where he met several injured students of BJ Medical College. The aircraft had crashed into the college’s hostel, which was filled with MBBS students. Many had gathered in the dining hall for lunch when the plane struck.
The ill-fated Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, crashed just 32 seconds after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport around 1.30 pm on Thursday. The aircraft slammed into the hostel in the densely populated Meghaninagar area, just 3 km from the runway.
A massive rescue and recovery operation is underway. Authorities have begun handing over the bodies to families, while investigators continue to examine the wreckage to determine the cause of one of the worst air disasters in India’s history.