British passenger in seat 11A survives India plane crash, reports say

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: BBC

British passenger in seat 11A survives India plane crash, reports say

26 minutes ago
André Rhoden-Paul
BBC News


British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh

A man survived the Air India crash that killed at least 200 people, a police chief has told an Indian news agency.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik told ANI there was one survivor who was in seat 11A on the London-bound Boeing 787-8 flight - a seat the flight manifest shared by authorities said was occupied by British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh.

His cousin in Leicester, Ajay Valgi, told the BBC that Mr Ramesh called his family to say he was "fine", but he does not know the whereabouts of his brother, Ajay who was also on the plane.

Mr Ramesh's brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, said he has "no idea" how he escaped the plane.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3v6drp96zo

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Wow.

[pandr32]

2. I wonder what he can remember.

The video of the plane showed it 'descending' almost as though it was not a crash--until it hit the building.

[LudwigPastorius]

4. Looked like loss of engine power.

It is exceedingly rare, but a bird strike could have taken out both engines on takeoff.

That's what happened to US Airways 1549, Captain "Sully's" plane.

[obamanut2012]

3. Was he even on the plane? It was a fireball

Was smash and a huge fireball, and also destroyed buildings and killed people on the ground.

Just wondering, because it's giving off "Unbreakable" vibes.

[LudwigPastorius]

5. He was conscious and able to give his name to the authorities.

It apparently matched the plane's manifest.

[Prairie Gates]

7. It probably broke up just before the explosion

They found all the bodies very quickly, which suggests many if not all were unburned. He probably got thrown from the wreckage along with his seat and simply had a lottery winning lucky landing on something that didn't splat him.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Many bodies are burned beyond recognition

Authorities in Gujarat have begun preparations for DNA testing to help identify victims of the Air India Flight 171 disaster.

“Most of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition,” said Vidhi Chaudhary, a senior police officer in Ahmedabad, where the London-bound Boeing 787 crashed shortly after takeoff.

Dhananjay Dwivedi, a senior state official, told AP that DNA sampling arrangements were being made to assist families and ensure proper identification.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/jun/12/air-india-flight-ai171-plane-crash-ahmedabad-india-latest-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-684b1b4f8f082f571e35a50d#block-684b1b4f8f082f571e35a50d

[bdamomma]

6. Mr Ramesh

is very lucky to have survived.

[travelingthrulife]

9. Some massive PTSD coming his way. So sad.

[Pachamama]

10. Not sure how Air India has that configured - but that is a seat I often take on United flights

It’s an odd numbered window seat in Polaris business and sits straight facing and I like the general location for flights internationally and is near the wings

They might have just coach and not the flat laying business cabinettes there on that flight.

Whether that played a role location wise or was just sheer luck - who knows.