The sole survivor of the tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad last June has opened up about his harrowing experience, telling BBC News he considers himself the “luckiest man” alive. However, this sentiment comes with a heavy heart as he grieves the loss of his brother and grapples with the aftermath of both physical and emotional scars.
Viswashkumar Ramesh, 39, miraculously emerged as the only survivor from the crash of the London-bound Boeing 787, which plummeted shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad.
In an interview with BBC News, Ramesh described his escape as a “miracle,” yet the devastating loss of his younger brother and the ensuing trauma have left him struggling to reclaim his life.
“I lost my brother too. He was my backbone,” Ramesh shared, emphasizing the deep bond they shared. “In the past few years, he was always there for me.”
A photograph provided by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs captures a meeting between Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah and Ramesh, now 40, during his stay at a hospital in Ahmedabad. (Image courtesy of the Ministry of Home Affairs India via AP)
Since returning to his home in Leicester, Ramesh has been battling severe post-traumatic stress, according to his advisors. The ordeal has left him struggling to communicate with his wife and 4-year-old son, marking a challenging path to recovery.
“Now I’m alone,” he said. “I just sit in my room alone, not talking with my wife, my son. I just like to be alone in my house.”
Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time. There were 242 passengers and crew members onboard the flight.
Firefighters work to put out a fire at the site of the crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. (Reuters/Amit Dave/TPX Images of the Day)
Video from the scene showed smoke rising from the wreckage as Ramesh stumbled away with minor visible injuries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later visited him in the hospital, where Ramesh recalled unbuckling his seatbelt and crawling out of the fuselage through an opening near his seat, 11A.
Speaking beside local community leader Sanjiv Patel and family spokesman Radd Seiger, Ramesh said reliving the crash remains too painful.
“I’m thinking all night, I’m suffering mentally,” he told BBC News. “Every day is painful for the whole family.”
The tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building in Ahmedabad, India. (Reuters/Amit Dave/TPX Images of the Day)
Ramesh said he continues to endure physical pain from leg, shoulder, knee, and back injuries that prevent him from working or driving.
“When I walk, not walk properly, slowly, slowly, my wife helps,” he said.
His advisors said he was diagnosed with PTSD while hospitalized in India but has not received further treatment since returning to the U.K.
Aircraft landing gear at the crash site of Air India Ltd. flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on June 12, 2025. (Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
They described him as “lost and broken,” calling for senior Air India officials to meet with him and other families affected by the crash.
“They’re in crisis, mentally, physically, financially,” Patel said. “It’s devastated his family.”
Seiger said repeated requests for a meeting with the airline have been ignored or declined.
“The people who should be sitting here today are the executives of Air India,” he said. “Please come and sit down with us so that we can work through this together to try and alleviate some of this suffering.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Air India for comment on the matter.
Still, Air India, owned by Tata Group, said in a statement to BBC News that company leaders have continued to visit families of victims and that an offer to meet Ramesh’s representatives “remains open.”
The airline said care for Ramesh and others affected by the crash “remains our absolute priority.”
