Latest news with #Diu
The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Brit survivor of Air India disaster tormented by nightmares where ‘everyone dies' and ‘won't speak' about horror crash
AIR India's sole crash survivor has nightmares where "everyone dies," and won't speak about the horror he went through, his family said. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, walked away with cuts and chest injuries after the Boeing 787 slammed into a residential building in Ahmedabad, India. 9 9 9 Despite being dubbed the "miracle man" and a "symbol of hope" in the country, the Brit still lies tormented by grief and survivor's guilt. His cousin Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester, says he manages to sleep, but not properly. He told The Sunday Times: 'When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. 'He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.' Vishwash decided to stay in India to recover at his family home in Bucharwada hamlet in Diu, instead of going back to London or Leicester. He had been sitting in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, and managed to crawl out through a hole in the twisted wreckage. His brother Ajay, 35, who was on the opposite side of the aisle in seat 11J, was among the 241 passengers who perished. 'He sees him [Ajay] everywhere,' said Keshave. 'He speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. His wife and his son [who is four] are there with him, supporting him. 'He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. 'He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash.' The miracle survivor previously told The Sun he felt "terrible" that he couldn't save his brother is racked with remorse over his death. 'Everything was visible in front of my eyes when the crash happened. 'I too thought that I was about to die, but then I opened my eyes and realised that I was still alive,' Vishwash said. 'It's a miracle I survived. I am OK physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay. 'If we had been sat together we both might have survived. I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one.' The pair had been returning to Leicester after the end of the fishing season at their family business in Diu. Their plan was simple: fly back to the UK on June 12 ahead of the monsoon. But the flight never made it. Moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, Flight AI171 lost altitude and smashed into a medical college hostel. A total of 241 passengers and crew plus 19 people on the ground were killed in the tragedy, including 52 Brits. The crash has become one of the deadliest involving British citizens in recent memory. Investigators are now zeroing in on a chilling twist in the cockpit. 9 9 9 According to flight data reviewed by US investigators, captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, may have manually flipped the plane's guarded fuel cut-off switches — a move aviation experts say could only have been intentional. A preliminary summary of the black-box recording reportedly captures co-pilot Clive Kunder asking, 'Why did you cut off?', to which Sabharwal eerily replies, 'I didn't.' But the switches were flipped off one second apart and then turned back on ten seconds later — too late to restart the engines. It comes after reports the captain made a haunting final remark to a security guard before leaving home on the day of the flight. In Vishwash's case, surviving has become its own form of torment. '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,' another relative told The Sunday Times. Key findings of Air India preliminary crash report Dual engine shutdown - fuel cutoff switches moved from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' Confusion between pilots - cockpit audio confirms one pilot asked 'why did you cut off', the other replied 'I didn't' RAT deployed - as seen in CCTV footage before the crash, the ram air turbine (RAT) which acts as a backup power source in case of emergencies had deployed Engine relight attempted - fuel switches were found returned to 'RUN' at crash site 32 seconds - the time the aircraft was airborne before it crashed Thrust levers mismatch - Thrust levers found at idle but black box data shows takeoff thrust was still engaged Fuel test pass - fuel was clean without any contamination Normal take-off set-up - Flaps and landing gear correctly configured No bird activity - clear skies, good visibility, light winds Pilot credentials clear - both medically fit and rested No sabotage detected - although FAA alerted over a known fuel switch vulnerability not checked by Air India Aircraft loading - the flight was within weight and balance limits After escaping the burning wreckage, Vishwash reportedly attempted to go back to save his brother. 'My family member is in there, my brother and he's burning to death. I have to save him,' he pleaded with emergency workers. Rescuer Satinder Singh Sandhu recalled: 'He was very disoriented and shocked and was limping. 'There was also blood on his face, but he was able to speak. 'He told the paramedics that he was flying to London when the plane fell and that he wanted to go back to save his family.' Doctors who treated him at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital said he was stable despite his physical wounds. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited him during his five-day stay in hospital before he was discharged and returned home. Vishwash has since returned to the family's coastal village of Diu, where he is trying to recover with the support of his wife Hiral, their young son, and his extended family. 9 9
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
'Miracle' British sole survivor of Air India crash is haunted by nightmares of the tragedy which killed 242 others and keeps 'seeing everyone die' in his dreams, family says
The British sole survivor of the horrific Air India crash is haunted by nightmares where he sees 'everyone die', his family have said. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, who was sitting in seat 11A, walked away with only cuts to his face and some chest injuries. He has been honoured as the 'miracle man', 'God's child', and a 'symbol of hope' by Indian media, and locals call him 'the man who cannot be killed'. But he is wracked with guilt as he faces the reality of being the only person out of 242 passengers and crew to survive the crash as the jetliner slammed into the ground and burst into flames. He struggles to sleep at night, according to a member of his extended family, Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester. '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.' The miracle survivor previously said he feels 'terrible' he could not save his brother Ajay, 35, and feels tormented with guilt over his death. The pair ran a fishing business in Diu, India and would live there during the fishing season - which begins in September and ends in May - then would return to Leicester for the off-season. 'He sees him speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash,' Krunal told The Sunday Times. Another relative said: '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 40-year-old told The Sun: 'It's a miracle I survived. I am OK physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay.' Vishwash had tried to book two seats next to each other on flight AI171, which crashed into a densely populated part of the city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff. But by the time he came to make the reservation, he was forced to pick two seats apart from each other in row 11. Vishwash said: 'If we had been sat together we both might have survived. 'I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one. Me and Ajay would have been sitting together. 'But I lost my brother in front of my eyes. So now I am constantly thinking 'Why can't I save my brother?' Vishwash carried his brother's coffin at a ceremony in Gujarat last month. He was later seen crying in anguish and had to be taken away. He was sitting next to one of the plane's emergency exits, was able to crawl through a hole in the twisted fuselage of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Footage exclusively obtained by MailOnline showed Vishwash tried going back to the site of the inferno to save his brother. Vishwash told the first emergency service worker on site: 'My family member is in there, my brother and he's burning to death. I have to save him.' Emergency worker Satinder Singh Sandhu said: 'I walked nearer to Mr Ramesh, grabbed him by the arm and led him away to a waiting ambulance. 'I had no idea that he was a passenger on the plane and thought he was a resident of the hostel or a passer-by. 'He was very disoriented and shocked and was limping. There was also blood on his face, but he was able to speak. 'He told the paramedics that he was flying to London when the plane fell and that he wanted to go back to save his family.' Shortly after the tragic crash he told Indian media: 'I thought I would die. Everything happened in front of my eyes,' 'I don't know how I came out of it alive. I saw people dying in front of my eyes.' The crash was one of the deadliest plane accidents in terms of the number of British nationals killed. The aircraft struck a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board, 52 of whom were British. Investigations into the Air India plane crash are looking into the captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who remained calm as the first officer Clive Kunder, 32, panicked about the fuel supply to the engines being cut off. A black-box recording of their conversation suggests that it was Sabharwal who turned off the switches, according to sources close to the US side of the probe. The Wall Street Journal reports that US pilots who have reviewed the Indian investigation believe first officer Clive Kunder, who was flying the aircraft, would probably have had his hands full trying to keep the Boeing Dreamliner steady. That responsibility would have left the captain, who was acting as the monitoring pilot, free to oversee the operation and possibly make adjustments. According to the official report, two crucial switches were flipped off one after the other, exactly a second apart. Ten seconds later, both switches were turned back on. In a preliminary summary of the exchange between pilots one asked the other why he moved the switches, while the other denied doing so. Air India said it 'stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI 171 accident'. A spokesman said: 'We continue to fully co-operate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.'
CNN
19-06-2025
- General
- CNN
Sole survivor of Air India crash lays his brother to rest after leaving hospital
Leaving hospital with wounds still fresh, the sole survivor of last week's Air India plane crash solemnly carried the coffin of his brother, performing the last rites for a life lost in the deadly disaster. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, appeared overcome with grief as he led the funeral procession through the streets of the western Indian coastal town of Diu on Wednesday. Ramesh, who was discharged from hospital a day prior, had bandages on his face from cuts and bruises sustained after flight AI171 traveling to London's Gatwick Airport from the western city of Ahmedabad plunged to the ground seconds after takeoff last Thursday, killing 241 people on board. How Ramesh escaped with a few wounds is being described as nothing short of a miracle. 'I don't know how I survived,' he told Indian state broadcaster DD News while in the hospital, explaining how he unbuckled himself from his seat in 11A – an emergency exit seat – shortly after the crash and walked away from the scene. 'For some time, I thought I was going to die. But when I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,' he said. He and his brother, who had been sitting a few rows away, had been returning to the UK after spending a few weeks visiting family in India. Video of Ramesh stumbling from the crash has been viewed widely on news channels and across social media. Flames can be seen billowing behind him, with thick plumes of smoke rising high into the sky. Authorities tasked with identifying the victims' bodies have described just how difficult that process has been. High temperatures from the burning fuel left 'no chance' to rescue passengers, India's Home Minister Amit Shah said, making bodies difficult to recognize. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was carrying 125,000 liters – enough to last a 10-hour flight from Ahmedabad to London – but it crashed less than a minute after takeoff, plunging into a hostel for medical students, killing several on the ground. As of Thursday, more than 150 bodies have been handed over to loved ones, according to health officials, with funerals taking place in various cities across the country. Investigators, meanwhile, are looking at the wreckage to determine what could have caused one of the worst air crashes India has seen in decades. A mayday call from the cockpit was made to air traffic control shortly before the crash, Indian civil aviation authorities said. Both black boxes, the plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, are now being analyzed for valuable clues that could help determine the cause. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are leading the probe into the crash with assistance from the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as officials from Boeing. The Indian government has also set up a separate high-level committee to examine what led to the crash. The committee is expected to file their preliminary findings within three months. Air India – the country's flagship carrier – said on Wednesday it is conducting safety inspections across all of its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet. 'Out of total 33 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days,' it said in a statement on X. Meanwhile, it has reduced international services on its widebody aircraft by 15% due to the ongoing inspections and the conflict in the Middle East, it added. For days, families of victims have gathered near morgues awaiting to collect the bodies of their loved ones and searching for answers. As Ramesh laid his brother to rest Wednesday, another family around 160 miles south in the city of Mumbai, performed burials for four members killed in the crash. Imtiaz Ali Syed, 42, whose brother Javed, sister-in-law, nephew and niece were on board the Air India flight, said he received their bodies from authorities in Ahmedabad and brought them to the family's hometown on Wednesday. Javed and his family, who lived in London, were in Mumbai to visit his sick mother and celebrate Eid al-Adha, also known as Bakri Eid, Syed told CNN. It was the first time in 15 years that Syed and his three other siblings were all together, he said. Syed's sister, who also lives in the UK, took a direct flight from Mumbai to London, he said. But Javed and his family were on a different flight via Ahmedabad. He described his disbelief when he learned that Javed was on the ill-fated Air India plane. 'Someone woke me up and said a plane crashed in Ahmedabad and asked me to check what flight Javed was on,' Syed recalled. Syed fondly described his brother as someone who was 'always available' for their family. 'He looked after my grandmother's medicines, he looked after my mother, he would take care of our sister,' he said, describing the unbearable pain of losing Javed. 'Within a week or fifteen days, or a month, maybe he will call,' Syed said. 'Telling me he is somewhere.'
CNA
19-06-2025
- General
- CNA
Air India crash survivor mourns brother killed in the same tragedy during emotional funeral
Ramesh Viswashkumar, the sole survivor of the deadly Air India plane crash, broke down as the body of his brother arrived in his hometown of Diu city, India on Wednesday (Jun 18). Viswashkumar and his brother were on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for Britain's Gatwick Airport on Jun 12, when the plane began losing altitude seconds after takeoff and crashed, killing over 270 people.
ABC News
18-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Lone survivor of Air India crash farewells brother as investigations continue into crash
Just days after being discharged from hospital, the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash has farewelled his brother, who died in the disaster. With bandages still on his face, Viswashkumar Ramesh helped carry his brother Ajay's coffin through the town of Diu on India's west coast on Wednesday, local time. He was clearly distressed and consoled by family members. Mourners packed the streets to farewell the English businessman's brother, who was sitting just a few rows from him six days ago when flight AI171 bound for London crashed in the suburbs of Ahmedabad. All of the other 241 other passengers died, along with at least 30 people on the ground and five medical students. Mr Ramesh remarkably survived the horror, managing to walk to find medical help. Other funeral services for victims took place across the country, but some families were still waiting for the relatives to be returned to them. Distraught relatives have been providing DNA samples to help identify their loved ones, in a painstakingly slow process. As of Wednesday, the medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Rakesh Joshi, told journalists that 208 victims had been identified. The funerals took place as Air India's chairman confirmed that the crashed Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had no record of engine problems. In an interview with Indian broadcaster Times Now, Natarajan Chandrasekaran said Air India flight 171's right engine was new and installed in March 2025, and that the left engine was last serviced in 2023. Experts from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are probing the crash with assistance from the UK, the US and officials from Boeing. A definitive cause could take several months or even years to determine. Following the crash, India's aviation safety regulator has ordered deeper checks on the Boeing 787 aircraft operated by Air India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that Air India had cancelled 83 wide-body flights, including 66 Dreamliners since the new checks were imposed. However, it said no "major safety concerns" had been found. Air India said it would cut international wide-body aircraft flights by 15 per cent for the next few weeks. It cited additional safety checks and operational disruption as reasons for the move. The airline said in a statement that inspections had been completed on 26 of its 33 Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft, and those 26 have been cleared for service. The cuts, effective until at least mid-July, were being implemented "to ensure stability of operations, better efficiency and minimise inconvenience to passengers," the Tata Group-owned airline said. The remaining planes will be checked in the coming days, and additional checks are also planned for its Boeing 777 fleet, Air India added. ABC/wires
