The sole survivor of the Air India plane crash has broken his silence.
After Vishwash Kumar Ramesh inexplicably survived the crash that killed the other 251 people on board, he spoke out about the tragedy in a conversation with DD News.
“I don’t know how I survived,” Ramesh said from his hospital bed, according to The Hindustan Times. “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.”
“Even I can’t believe how I came out of it alive,” he continued. “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. I still can’t believe how I survived.”
Ramesh, a British man, was visiting family in India with his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, in the days before the crash. The men were heading back home to the U.K. when tragedy struck.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh Recalls Deadly Plane Crash
As for what happened before the plane went down, Ramesh recalled, “When the flight took off, within 5 to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air. Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there.”
That establishment was a hostel for doctors. While parts of the plane rammed into that building, the section where Ramesh was sitting did not.
“When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out,” he said. “I tried, and I did. Maybe the people who were on the other side of the plane weren’t able to.”
Ramesh didn’t make it out totally unscathed. The Hindustan Times reported that he sustained impact injuries as a result of the crash. Ramesh told DD News that he also suffered burns on his left hand.
In the wake of the tragedy, Ramesh’s brother, Nayan Ramesh, spoke out.
“When the crash happened my brother video called us and all he could say was ‘I have no idea how I survived or exited the plane,’” he said, per The Times. “He kept saying, ‘I can’t see my brother or anybody else.’ All he was worried about on the phone was telling us, ‘Find Ajay, you must find Ajay.’”
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
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