The one remaining survivor on the Air India flight that crashed is reportedly living a life of emotional torture.
The AI 171 flight crashed only moments after taking off on June 12 from India’s Ahmedabad Airport. It was scheduled for London Gatwick at 6.25pm local time.
Tragically, there was only one survivor, 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
Police Commissioner GS Malik shared: “The police found one survivor in seat 11A. One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment.
“Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area.”
Footage of the man walking away from the crash immediately went viral. He shared with the Hindustan Times: “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,”
“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,” Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times.
He shared that his brother Ajay was seated in a different part of the plane.
“When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air.
“Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white.
“The aircraft wasn’t gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.”
“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.”
He said: “I think the side I was on was not facing the hostel. I don’t know about others.”
“At first, I thought I was dead. Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage.” he shared.
“He [Viswashkumar] was near the emergency exit and managed to escape by jumping out the emergency door,” said Vidhi Chaudhary, a senior police officer in Ahmedabad.
Sadly, his brother did not make it. He told The Sun: “I lost my brother in front of my eyes.”
Since, it has been reported that he is struggling mentally. His nephew, Krunal Keshave shared with The Sunday Times; “He can’t sleep at night,”, “He sleeps but doesn’t sleep properly. When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.”
He is allegedly suffering with survivors guilt as well as unimaginable greif over losing his brother; “He sees him (Ajay) everywhere,” said Keshave, “He speaks but he doesn’t speak about the crash. His wife and his son… are there with him, supporting him. He is trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. He is spending time at home with the family.”
Another of his relatives shared with media: “He feels guilty that he is the only one to have lived when everybody else, including his brother, died. It’s a lot to live with.”
The two pilots in control of the plane were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder.
The preliminary report revealed what was said between the pilots. It read: “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”
“At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY”. The ATCO enquired about the call sign. ATCO did not get any response but observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary and activated the emergency response.”
Sabharwal reportedly said: “Mayday […] no thrust, losing power, unable to lift.”
Heartbreaking.