“When I woke up, there were bodies all around me. I was terrified. I stood up and ran.”
These haunting words from Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old survivor of Thursday’s tragic Air India crash, capture the horror of the accident that unfolded just moments after take-off.
Speaking from his hospital bed in the general ward of Civil Hospital, Asarwa in Ahmedabad, Vishwash described the horrifying sequence of events.
“About 30 seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise, and then the plane crashed. It happened so fast,” he told Hindustan Times.
The Gatwick-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people including crew members, had departed Ahmedabad airport at 1:39 pm.
Within minutes, it crashed and burst into flames, scattering debris and triggering a massive emergency response.
Vishwash, who sustained injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet, recalled being pulled from the wreckage.
“There were parts of the plane everywhere. Someone grabbed me, put me in an ambulance, and brought me to the hospital,” he said, still holding his boarding pass.
Originally from India, Vishwash had been visiting family and was returning to London, where he has lived for the past 20 years with his wife and child.
He was traveling with his brother, 45-year-old Ajay Kumar Ramesh, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Air India confirmed that out of the 230 passengers on board, 169 were Indian nationals. The remaining passengers included 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian citizen.
