Air India crash: Sole survivor Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, luckiest or loneliest?

London: For many, 40-year-old Vishwas Kumar Ramesh is the ‘luckiest man alive.’ But for him, survival feels like a punishment he never asked for.

Ramesh was the only one to walk away alive from Air India flight AI-171, which crashed moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, killing 241 people on board.

The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off and, within seconds, slammed into the hostel building of BJ Medical College, killing 19 students on the ground.

Ramesh, seated in 11A, close to the emergency exit, was the sole survivor. Visuals of him walking, face blackened with soot, eyes glassy with disbelief, with no major injuries, stunned the country. His younger brother, Ajay, seated a few rows away, died.

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“I am the only survivor. I cannot believe it. It’s a miracle,” Ramesh told the BBC. “I lost my brother, my backbone. He was a huge support for me the last few years,” he said.

Ramesh was discharged on June 17, the same day his brother’s remains were handed over after DNA confirmation.

The British citizen returned home to Leicester, in the East Midlands region of England, over a month ago, but has reportedly struggled to access the level of medical attention he requires for his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The father of a four-year-old boy who relies on his wife to get around the house spends most days in his room, consumed by the tragedy that claimed the life of his brother.

Ramesh says the real crash happened afterwards. “Now I just sit in my room alone, not talking with my wife, my son. I just like to be alone in my house,” he said.

“My mum… for the last four months, she’s sitting every day outside the door, not talking, nothing. I can’t talk to anyone else. I can’t sleep. Every night I see everything again. Every day is painful — for the whole family.”

Air India said it remains “deeply conscious” of its responsibility towards Vishwas Kumar Ramesh and has been supporting the family through the “unimaginable period”, with over 95 per cent of those impacted by the tragedy now having received interim payments pending the conclusion of the crash investigation.

Radd Seiger, a UK-based retired lawyer who volunteers as a crisis management adviser, has taken charge as Ramesh’s spokesperson and appealed to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson to meet with the family to be able to fully assess and address the gravity of the situation.

“This has had a devastating effect on the entire family, both in the UK and in India, and we are issuing a direct appeal to the Chief Executive Officer, Campbell Wilson, to come and see that for himself and then to work with us to help Vishwas Kumar,” Seiger told PTI.

“He needs a lot of help. His injuries are significant, both physical and psychological. The family also ran a fishing business in Diu which has collapsed after the crash in June, so they are suffering financially as well.

“We need Air India to step forward and to help us put a welfare package together for Vishwas Kumar and his family,” he said.

Air India has offered an interim compensation of Rs 22 lakh.

Every day, he revisits the moment he looked over to where Ajay should have been. Now, all he has is silence.

(With PTI inputs)

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