Ahmedabad | June 15, 2025 — In one of India’s deadliest aviation tragedies, only one person out of 242 passengers and crew aboard the Air India flight AI-171 miraculously survived after the aircraft crashed into a residential building in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on June 12.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, seated in 11A, lived through the devastating crash that killed his own brother, who was on the same flight.
“I still can’t believe how I came out of it alive,” Ramesh said from his hospital bed. “For a moment, I felt I was going to die too. When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by flames, charred bodies, and debris.”
The London-bound Dreamliner took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and within seconds, began to lose altitude. Ramesh recalled strange green and white lights flashing inside the aircraft and said it felt like the plane was stuck in midair. It ultimately slammed into a medical college hostel in the Meghani Nagar area of the city.
A Family Torn Apart
Vishwash’s brother, whose identity has not been publicly released, was among the 241 people who died in the crash.
Speaking to Sky News, another brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, said that Vishwash managed to video call their father shortly after the crash:
“He said, ‘Oh the plane’s crashed. I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t see any other passengers. I don’t know how I’m alive.’”
Their cousin Ajay Valgi told the BBC that Ramesh had also reached out to relatives in Leicester, England, but shared little beyond the fact that he was alive. “He has a wife and a little boy. The family is relieved, but deeply shaken by the loss of his brother.”
PM Modi Visits Survivor in Hospital
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site on Friday, also met with Vishwash Kumar Ramesh at the hospital where he is recovering.
“I told PM Modi what all I had witnessed. He enquired about my health,” Ramesh said.
Investigation Ongoing
The crash has sparked a full-scale investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The black box has been recovered and is expected to shed more light on the final moments of the ill-fated flight.