A man from the United Kingdom appears to have miraculously made it out alive from the catastrophic Air India crash on Thursday that took over 200 lives. Local authorities and video footage confirm that the passenger was seen walking away from the wreckage with only minor injuries.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who had been seated in 11A aboard the Boeing 787-8, is currently hospitalized, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said in a statement to ANI news.
According to the Hindustan Times, Ramesh was spotted hobbling along the road, dazed but conscious, amid the aftermath of the crash, which occurred shortly after the plane departed from Ahmedabad airport and slammed into a residential area.
“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,” the 40-year-old said from his hospital bed.
“Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
Ramesh described the terrifying ordeal as the aircraft began its rapid descent before colliding with a housing complex used by medical professionals in a densely populated district of the city, which has around five million residents.
“Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.”
Speaking to the BBC, Ramesh’s relative Ajay Valgi said the family received a phone call from him earlier in the day, reassuring them that he was “fine” after surviving the disaster.
Valgi and other relatives have gathered in Leicester, England, anxiously awaiting updates—particularly about Ramesh’s brother, who was also a passenger on the doomed flight.
Originally from India, Ramesh has resided in the United Kingdom for several years. He is married and has a young child.
There were 242 individuals on the aircraft when it went down.
Initial reports from Ahmedabad’s top police official indicated that there were no survivors and that the crash had also claimed lives on the ground.
However, he later told the BBC that a total of 204 bodies had been recovered from the scene thus far.
{Matzav.com}