Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited the lone survivor of the devastating Air India plane crash that claimed at least 260 lives a day earlier. The ill-fated AI-171 flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad International Airport en route to London Gatwick.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, was the only passenger to survive the fatal accident. Currently being treated at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Ramesh recounted the horror from his hospital bed: "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."
Ramesh, who had been seated in 11A near an emergency exit, reportedly managed to escape from the wreckage moments before or after the crash, according to police. He was traveling with his brother after visiting relatives in India.
Prime Minister Modi met Ramesh in the hospital's C7 ward, where 25 others injured in related incidents are also receiving treatment. The Prime Minister also spoke with the medical staff caring for the patients, according to PTI.
Earlier in the day, Modi visited the crash site, accompanied by Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, Gujarat State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, and senior officials. The plane had plunged into a nearby medical college hostel just 33 seconds after takeoff, causing catastrophic loss of life.
Onboard were 242 individuals, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 from the UK, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has launched a formal probe into the tragedy, confirmed Civil Aviation Minister Naidu.
The incident marks one of the deadliest air disasters in India's recent aviation history.
