CNN
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That seemed impossible, but the video began to circulate on social media shortly after news broke that Air India flight had crashed in Ahmedabad city.
It was then revealed that there was one survivor. The British citizen of Indian origin has been identified by the Hindustan Times as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
“Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened very quickly,” he cited the hospital interview saying he was undergoing treatment.
He said he was visiting his family and was back in the UK with his brother, who was sitting in another line. He wasn’t sure if his brother survived, he said.
Air India later confirmed that of the 242 people on the flight, 241 were killed, making Ramesh the only survivor.
His cousin Ajay Vargi told reporters in Leicester in England that Ramesh told his family he was “good” and added that they were angry at his brother and everything else that had passed away.
The doctor told CNN that Ramesh’s condition is “not very critical” and that he could be released in the next few days.
“He has some blood in the image, but he’s not so badly injured. He’s very comfortable and under strict observation and has no issues.
Indian news outlets share photos of Ramesh’s boarding pass. This shows that he was sitting on 11A of the flight in the emergency exit line just before the left wing of the plane. CNN does not independently confirm the truth behind the photos.
David Sussy, a safety analyst at CNN and former US Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector, expressed surprise that anyone sitting on that part of the plane would withstand such crash drops.
The seat “is the wing spar below, and it would be a solid place for the aircraft to hit the ground, but it’s very surprising when it comes to survivability above it,” he told CNN.
Ramesh’s survival was said to be miraculous by British members of Parliament.
“It’s nothing more than a miracle. I’m reaching out to my family and choosing to respect their privacy during this ordeal time. But you may have picked up. One of his brothers also had a stump on that flight that sadly failed to survive.”
People inside the hostels of BJ Medical College and hospitals were also killed when the plane crashed. There, a senior doctor at Ahmedabad Municipal Hospital, where the majority of the dead and injured were taken, told CNN.
The doctor added that the death toll is likely to rise.
Earlier on Thursday, Swapnil Bhalodia of the Indian Medical Association’s Medical Student Network said at least three medical students were killed in the crash, and another 30 were injured.
The plane headed to London’s Gatwick Airport, carrying Indian, British, Canadian and Portuguese citizens.