Vishwashkumar Ramesh, the only real identified survivor among the many 242 passengers on board an Air India flight that crashed within the northwestern metropolis of Ahmedabad on Thursday, had been seated close to an emergency exit of the London-bound flight and managed to leap out, police mentioned.
Speaking from his hospital mattress, the 40-year-old informed Indian media that he was a British nationwide and was travelling to Britain together with his brother after visiting household in India.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital,” Ramesh informed the Hindustan Times.
It was not clear whether or not Ramesh managed to leap out earlier than the airplane made affect.
Social media footage proven on Indian news channels confirmed a person in a bloodstained white t-shirt and darkish pants limping on a avenue and being helped by a medic. The man had bruises on his face and a goatee beard, resembling pictures of Ramesh within the hospital after the crash that have been printed by native media.
A video on social media confirmed folks gathering across the man and asking him the place the opposite passengers have been, to which he replied, “they’re all inside.”
A photograph of Ramesh’s boarding move, proven on-line by the Hindustan Times, confirmed that he was seated in seat 11A of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner certain for Gatwick Airport.
He informed the paper his brother Ajay had been seated in a special row on the airplane and requested for assist to seek out him.
“He was near the emergency exit and managed to escape by jumping out the emergency door,” mentioned Vidhi Chaudhary, a senior police officer in Ahmedabad, talking about Ramesh.
A member of Ramesh’s household based mostly in Britain, who requested anonymity, informed Reuters over the cellphone that he had survived and that the household was in contact with him, however declined to share additional particulars.
The survivor’s brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, informed the BBC: “He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane.'”
Ajay Valgi, a cousin of Ramesh who lives in Leicester, central England, informed the BBC that Viswashkumar spoke by cellphone to substantiate he was all proper. “He only said that he was fine, nothing else,” Valgi mentioned.
Valgi mentioned the household had not heard something about his brother. “We’re not doing well. We’re all upset,” he mentioned.
Ramesh is married with one youngster, a boy, he added.
The plane got here down in a residential space, crashing onto a medical faculty hostel exterior the airport throughout lunch hour, on the planet’s worst aviation catastrophe in a decade. At least 260 folks have been killed within the crash. The lifeless included some on the bottom.
Police mentioned a beforehand shared demise toll of 294 was improper resulting from some double-counted physique elements.
Police mentioned Ramesh was the only real passenger identified to this point to have survived, however added that rescue operations have been nonetheless ongoing.
“Chances are that there might be more survivors among the injured who are being treated in the hospital,” Chaudhary mentioned.
Source: www.dailysabah.com