"There were people dying in front of my eyes," said the British survivor of Air India plane crash.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said his first thought was that he was dead when the plane crashed into the building.
"I then realised that I was alive and escaped the wreckage," he said as reported.
The 40-year-old survivor was speaking from his hospital bed.
He told DD News that the plane felt like it was 'stuck in the air' shortly after take-off before the cabin lights began flickering green and white.
"All of a sudden, the plane slammed into a building and exploded," he said.
In one of the deadliest plane crashes, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner struck a medical college as it crashed in a fireball on Thursday, killing the other 241 people onboard.
It is the first involving a 787.
“I can’t believe how I came out of it alive. 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," said Ramesh.
He said when the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air.
Not gaining any altitude
Ramesh said the aircraft wasn’t gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.
“I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through an opening, and crawled out. I don’t know how I survived.
“I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me ... I walked out of the rubble.”
Ramesh was returning to the UK, where he has lived for 20 years, after visiting family in India. One of his brothers, speaking outside the family home in Leicester, said Ramesh had “no idea” how he escaped.
At least five medical students were killed and about 50 injured. There are fears the number of people killed on the ground could rise. Investigations are continuing into the cause of the crash.
A British couple, Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who ran a spiritual wellness centre, were said to be among the dead, while the Gloucester Muslim Community group offered “sincere and deepest condolences” after Akeel Nanabawa, his wife, Hannaa, and their four-year-old daughter, Sara, were reported to be among the victims.
Raj Mishra, the mayor of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, called for people to come together as he announced the deaths of “Raxa Modha, infant Rudra Modha, and Ms K Mistri” in his constituency.
Aviation experts have speculated about the possible causes of the crash, from both engines failing – possibly due to a bird strike, as happened in the “Miracle on the Hudson” in 2009 – to the flaps on the aircraft’s wings not being set to the correct position for take-off.
The Air India chief executive, Campbell Wilson, visited the area, according to the BBC, but did not take questions from the media. - June 14, 2025
