The sole survivor of the Air India plane crash has revealed exactly how he got out during the disaster that killed more than 200 people.
On Thursday (June 12), a 40-year-old British man miraculously managed to walk away from the wreckage of the Air India flight that killed all other 241 passengers and crew, as well as dozens more on the ground.
The doomed AI171 jet had departed from Ahmedabad and was bound for London Gatwick when it crashed less than a minute after takeoff into residential buildings.
The Boeing 787-8 was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board, comprised of 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national, and seven Portuguese nationals.
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Now, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was sat in seat 11a on the plane and stands as the sole survivor, has revealed how he managed to get out of the wreckage.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times from a hospital bed in Asarwa, Ahmedabad, Ramesh said: “Thirty seconds after takeoff there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.
“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.”
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He added to Indian state media DD News exactly how he managed to free himself.
Ramesh said: "I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out."
He also recalls how the lights inside the aircraft 'started flickering' moments after take off.
Then, seconds later, he said it was like the plane was 'stuck in the air'.
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"The lights started flickering green and white...suddenly slammed into a building and exploded," he added.
The jet crashed into a building used as accommodation for doctors at the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital.
The father-of-one from Leicester said the part of the plane he was sat in was near to the ground and had not made contact with the building.
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"When the door broke and I saw there was some space, I tried to get out of there and I did," he continued.
"No one could have got out from the opposite side, which was towards the wall, because it crashed there."
Footage which has since gone viral then shows Ramesh walking away from the wreckage towards an ambulance.
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"I saw people dying in front of my eyes - the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me," he told the Indian broadcaster.
"For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too, but when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive.
"I still can't believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble."
Doctor Dhaval Gameti, who it treating Ramesh, said: “He was disorientated, with multiple injuries all over his body. But he seems to be out of danger.”
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The cause of the crash is still being investigated, as officials say the jet's black box which has been recovered from the crash site will be analysed.
Police have also not yet given a final figure of fatalities, from the plane and those on the ground below.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site and said in a statement that the country is 'devastated by the air tragedy'.
He added: "The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families. We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come. Om Shanti.”
Topics: Air India, Plane, World News, India
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