British Air India survivor helping to carry his brother’s coffin
The sole survivor of the Air India disaster carried the coffin of his brother to his funeral hours after being discharged from hospital.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh stumbled out of the burning jet moments before it exploded, whilst all other 241 onboard – including his brother Ajay – were killed.
His body was among as many as 270 recovered from the site of the crash in the city of Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, on Thursday last week.
Footage shows the British national valancing Ajay’s coffin on his shoulder, despite walking with a visible limb.
His face is covered in plasters – injuries suffered during the collision after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner reported a loss of engine thrust after take-off.
The tragic parade made its way through the streets less than a week after the plane came down.
Vishwas’ family from Leicester – including his wife and son – have flown out to India to be with him following news of the tragedy.
Both brothers are natives of the coastal town of Diu and had travelled to India to spend time with their family.
Local officials confirmed that Ajay was cremated in the town by his family.
Vishwas’ survival has been hailed a miracle – and he was even visited by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sitting in 11A – a window seat by an emergency exit – he was able to crawl out of the aircraft, and was filmed walking into the street.
Meanwhile, Ajay was at the far end of the same row on the other side of the aisle – seat 11J.
Vishwash told DD News: ‘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 described what happened before the crash and said: ‘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.’
He added: ‘At first, I thought I was dead. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive.
‘Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage.
‘I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out.
‘[There was a] little bit of fire, after that I’m out. Then [the] blast,’ he said.
‘I just walked out, then ambulance is coming.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.