The sole survivor of the Air India plane crash, Viswashkumar Ramesh, who escaped the fatal crash months ago, is still fighting nearly five months after the tragedy. He has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since returning to his home in Leicester.
Viswashkumar Ramesh, still bearing the scars of the fatal Ahmedabad crash that killed 241 people on board, was unable to speak to his wife and four-year-old son, the BBC reported.
“I am alone now. I am just sitting alone in my room, I am not talking to my wife, my son. I am just happy to be alone in my house,” Ramesh told the media.
What happened in the Air India plane crash?
The tragedy dates back to June 12, 2025, when an Air India flight (AI-171) bound for London – a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – was engulfed in flames after it crashed shortly after take-off.
The plane crashed into the BJ Medical College Hostel in Ahmedabad, killing all 241 people except one on board and several others on the ground.
The students were having lunch when a Boeing hit the hostel, killing several medics.
Story by Viswashkumar Ramesh
The 40-year-old survivor was sitting in 11A near the emergency exit. After the crash, he said he managed to escape the wreckage through a hole in the fuselage.
“I managed to unclip, put my foot through the opening and climbed out,” Vishwashkumar Ramesh told DD News at the time.
Ramesh’s brother, who was also flying with him in the same plane, was killed in the crash.
Almost five months have passed since the harrowing crash of the Air India plane – described as one of the worst in aviation history – but Ramesh’s fight continues.
Ramesh cannot walk
The sole survivor of the crash also told the BBC that his leg, shoulder, knee and back hurt and he has been unable to work or drive since the tragedy.
And it’s not just the mental and physical crisis that the Air India crash has created for Ramesh. His family is also going through a financial crisis.
Ramesh’s advisers told the BBC that the family fishing business in Diu, which the survivor ran with his brother before the crash, has since collapsed – severing the family’s income.
Air India offered Ramesh an interim compensation payment of rs 25 lakh (£21,500), which was accepted, but his advisers say it is not enough to meet his immediate needs.
