A British citizen has been confirmed as the only survivor of the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad, India, shortly after takeoff, with more than 200 feared people.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, from London, sat at 11a and has been identified through the flight manifesto as the only known person who has survived the horrible accident.
“Everything happened very fast,” Ramesh said from his hospital bed, where he is being treated for face, chest and feet injuries. “When I got up, there were bodies around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane around me,” they told The Hindustan Times.
Ramesh had returned to the United Kingdom after visiting the family with his brother, who was sitting elsewhere. “I can't find it anymore,” he said.
Police say that more than 200 bodies of the scene have been recovered, including victims on the ground. Among the 242 people on board were 169 Indian nationals, seven Portuguese, one Canadian and 53 British, along with 11 children.
The United Kingdom Foreign Ministry confirmed that a team will be deployed in India to help with the answer, and that its global response center is already in contact with families of victims' suspicions.
Aviation experts are suggesting a possible loss of energy or flight control.
Robert A. Clifford, a lawyer who directed a similar investigation in 2019, said: “The review of the available video and eye witnesses indicates some form of energy loss or flight control.” He stressed that the flight data data and the voice recorders of the cabin will be vital to understand the clash. The aircraft accident researcher Tim Atkinson told BBC News: “It is probably the most complex scene that I have seen photos … This will be a very long and extraordinarily difficult and uncomfortable accident site for those who work on it.”
The pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, had more than 8,200 flight hours and was described as highly experienced.
This devastating accident has caused reactions from world leaders. The United Kingdom Labor leader, Sir Keir Starmer, said: “The scenes that arise from a plane to London that transports many British citizens who crash in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating … My thoughts are with passengers and their families at this deeply distressing moment.”
(The telegraph)
Read too Main stories OF Nigerian tribe