Air India crash kills over 200, but one man survives: UK passenger found alive amid wreckage in seat 11A

A 40-year-old British national, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was confirmed as the only survivor of the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The aircraft, operating as a London-bound service, carried 242 individuals, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. All others on board, including Vishwash¡¯s brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, were declared dead.

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik told ANI that the survivor was found in seat 11A and had been admitted to Civil Hospital in Asarwa with injuries. ¡°One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment,¡± he stated.

Vishwash recalls chaos moments after takeoff

Vishwash, who was returning to the UK after a family visit to Gujarat, recounted the incident from his hospital bed. ¡°Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,¡± he told the Hindustan Times. He sustained injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet due to the impact.

According to visuals shared on social media, Vishwash was seen walking unsteadily near the crash site, clutching his boarding pass while being assisted into an ambulance. ¡°When I got up, there were bodies all around me¡­ pieces of the plane were everywhere. Someone grabbed me and put me in an ambulance,¡± he told News18.

This is where the lone survivor of the Air India crash was seated, probably the emergency exit row. What a lucky guy! pic.twitter.com/3Alx4j6kA8

¡ª Aaraynsh (@aaraynsh) June 12, 2025

Aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff; black box search ongoing

Air Traffic Control in Ahmedabad confirmed that the pilot had issued a ¡®Mayday¡¯ call at 1:39 PM IST shortly after the aircraft departed. The plane managed to gain only about 600¨C800 feet before plummeting rapidly and crashing into a residential zone in Meghaninagar.

Thick black smoke and flames were visible from a distance, as rescue teams responded to the site. Authorities are continuing the search for the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder to investigate what led to the rapid descent.

Passenger composition and official confirmation

Air India reported that of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. The remaining twelve were crew members, including two pilots. As of now, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh remains the only confirmed survivor.

The police have not released final casualty numbers but reiterated that the death toll stood at 241 as of Thursday evening. ¡°The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area,¡± Commissioner Malik had noted earlier.

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