“There were bodies all around” – Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Jumped Out of Plane, Recalls What Happened

London-bound Air India flight from Ahmedabad, which carried 242 people, crashed shortly after it took off yesterday (June 12). In an accident that was initially thought to have killed everyone onboard, officials confirmed that there was a SOLE SURVIVOR from the crash.

Meet Ramesh Viswashkumar, the only person who made it out alive by jumping out of the emergency exit before the plane crashed.

According to the BBC, almost immediately after takeoff, the cockpit gave a mayday call, although the nature of the distress call was unknown. Ramesh, however, said that he heard a loud bang 30 seconds after takeoff as the plane struggled to gain altitude.

According to Ramesh’s flight ticket, he was seated at 11A, closest to the emergency exit.

“There were bodies all around me”

When Ramesh regained consciousness, his first sight was the corpses that surrounded him, which prompted him to run out of fear. A video of him walking away from the crash scene is currently circulating, and Ramesh said someone grabbed him and put him into an ambulance, as per the report by The Hindustan Times.

A member of Ramesh’s family based in Britain, who requested anonymity, told Reuters over the phone that he had survived and that the family was in touch with him, but declined to share further details.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Ramesh said he was a British national and he was travelling to Britain after visiting his family in India. His brother, however, was seated in a different row.

Many medical students in a hostel were also killed during the crash

Unfortunately, the crash also claimed the lives of those who were on the ground. Some charred corpses were beyond recognition, and authorities couldn’t identify whether they were from the plane or the building that the plane crashed into.

According to Al-Jazeera, the plane crashed into a medical college, killing an unknown number of medical students who were in the hostel during the accident. 

India’s Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah said the plane was carrying 100 tonnes of fuel – practically a full load – as it climbed out of Ahmedabad. At the time of writing (June 13), officials said it is “almost impossible” to determine the cause of the crash, but the investigation is still ongoing.

Stay tuned as we keep you updated.

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