Ramesh Vishwaskumar (Survivor in Air India Plane Crash)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ramesh Vishwaskumar

• Ramesh Vishwaskumar was the only passenger to survive the Air India crash that killed all 241 people on board on 12 June 2025.

• He is a British businessman of Indian origin, living in Leicester, United Kingdom, for more than 20 years.

• He has been living in the UK with his younger brother, wife, son and cousin.

• In early June 2025, Ramesh travelled to India with his cousin to visit family.

• On 12 June 2025, he boarded Air India Flight AI171 with his elder brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, from Ahmedabad to London.

• He was seated in seat 11A, a row next to the emergency exit, while his brother was seated in a different row on the plane.

  

• After the crash, he contacted his family in Leicester through a video call, informed them that he was alive but unable to find his brother Ajay.

• Ramesh suffered injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet. He received treatment at Civil Hospital in Asarwa, Ahmedabad.

• Ramesh also said that an unidentified person had helped him get into an ambulance that rushed him to the nearby hospital for immediate treatment.

• During an interview, Ramesh mentioned that within 33 seconds after takeoff, he heard a loud bang, followed by the aircraft breaking apart in mid-air. He awoke surrounded by flaming debris and bodies, and then, terrified, he “stood up and ran.”

• At the hospital, Ramesh told doctors that,

I did not jump from the plane but was thrown out while still strapped to his seat when the aircraft disintegrated. The place where I landed was low… I took off the seat belt and for a moment, I was scared for my life. But I was near ground level, so I tried to get out,”

• In an interview, Dr. Rajnish Patel, the professor and head of surgery at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, who was treating Ramesh, stated that Ramesh’s condition was “not very critical” and that he was expected to be discharged in the coming days.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah visited the hospital where Ramesh was receiving treatment to meet him.

  

• According to Air India, the 240 people who died on board Flight AI171 included 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. The remaining 12 included two pilots and 10 crew members. Former Gujarat chief minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani was also among the passengers on the ill-fated flight.