Viswashkumar Ramesh, the only person who survived the Air India airplane accident in Ahmedabad has been discharged from the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. During an phone call with Aaj Tak, Ramesh verified that he is returning home and plans to conduct the final rituals for his younger brother on Wednesday.
Ramesh, who held dual Indian-British citizenship, was one of the 242 individuals aboard the London-directed flight that met with a fatal accident soon after departure on April 12, crashing into theBJ Medical College hostel and canteen.
The airplane, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was heading towards London's Gatwick Airport when the incident took place. This marked the first deadly crash involving this particular model since it began commercial operations in 2011.
When the airplane disintegrated, Ramesh, who was sitting in seat 11A beside the emergency exit, found his seat come loose and get thrown away from the debris. This prevented him from being engulfed by the subsequent huge explosion of flames. Earlier, he recounted to medical professionals: “The aircraft shattered, and my seat became disconnected.”
"The area where I touched down was at a lower elevation... After unfastening my seatbelt, I felt terrified for a brief moment. However, since I was close to the ground, I attempted to exit," he shared with DD News.
A footage of him coming out of theBJ Medical campus soon after the airplane accident It had gained widespread attention previously. Afterward, he was hospitalized. Before this, various leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited him at the hospital.
Ramesh has since described his survival as nothing short of a miracle and expressed disbelief at how he lived through the crash. "I can't believe how I survived," Ramesh told reporters. "I thought I would die. People died in front of my eyes," he added.
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