The world is still reeling from last week’s devastating Air India crash that claimed the lives of 241 people onboard and dozens more on the ground.
But what’s left everyone even more stunned is the near-impossible fact that one man actually survived the fiery catastrophe.
Now, a stunning new video has surfaced showing the unthinkable: the moment the lone survivor emerges from the fiery wreckage of Air India Flight AI171, just moments after the plane crashed into a building and burst into flames.
Visibly dazed
The horrifying crash occurred on June 12, when a London-bound Boeing 787-8 went down less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad, India.
The jet slammed into a residential building used to house medical staff, instantly killing all 241 passengers and crew onboard — except for one man. Dozens more on the ground also perished, pushing the official death toll to 270, making it one of the deadliest air disasters of the 21st century.
Shortly after the crash, a police official declared that there were no survivors. But within hours, rumors began to circulate on social media suggesting someone had made it out alive. Those whispers turned out to be true — major news agencies later confirmed that one man had miraculously survived the disaster.
Miraculously, 40-year-old British passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh had survived.
Ramesh, who was traveling back to the UK with his brother Ajay, somehow managed to crawl out of the flaming wreckage and walk away, visibly dazed and injured. Video footage shows him limping down the street as black smoke and fire rage behind him.
“I still can’t believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble,” Ramesh told Indian broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed.
Seated in 11A, Ramesh was the only person onboard to escape alive. He says he unbuckled himself and pushed his way out through an opening using his leg before crawling to safety.
“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,” he told local reporters.
Once outside, disoriented and injured, he was helped by a bystander and taken by ambulance to the hospital. Although the plane erupted into a fireball on impact, Ramesh said he didn’t have to jump — he simply walked out. He believes the section of the jet he was sitting in hadn’t hit the building directly.
“No one on the opposite side could’ve gotten out,” he added, via BBC News. “That side hit the wall directly. The door near me broke open, and I just moved.”
“I saw people dying in front of my eyes — the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me,” he said. “For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too, but when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive.”
Ramesh had been flying home alongside his brother Ajay, who tragically did not survive. Both were seated in the same row. He told DD News that he’s still trying to process the loss.
Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who is treating Ramesh, confirmed he suffered multiple injuries but is now “out of danger.”
“He was disoriented and in shock,” the doctor said. “But it’s a miracle he made it out alive.”
Authorities have yet to determine what caused the crash. Ramesh recalled hearing a loud noise and seeing flickering lights inside the cabin just seconds after takeoff.
The plane’s black box has since been recovered from the rooftop of a nearby building and is expected to shed light on the final moments of the flight, including cockpit recordings and warning signals.
Authorities have confirmed that Flight 171’s captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, issued a distress call moments after takeoff. His final radio transmission: “Mayday… no thrust, losing power, unable to lift.”
In a video statement shared online, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson confirmed that each family of a deceased passenger will receive over ₹1.25 crore (approx. £106,000 or $133,000) in financial compensation. This is in addition to the ₹1 crore already pledged by parent company Tata Sons, per the New Indian Express.
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