Additional Coverage:
Lone Survivor of Tragic Air India Crash Returns Home, Grappling with Unspeakable Trauma
Leicester, England – Five months after miraculously surviving a devastating Air India plane crash that claimed 260 lives in western India, Viswash Kumar Ramesh has returned to his home in England, but his life has been irrevocably altered by the horrific experience. The sole survivor of Flight 171 reports being unable to communicate even with his own family, a testament to the profound trauma he endures.
Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, met a tragic end on June 13, impacting a building in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff. The crash resulted in the deaths of 19 individuals on the ground and all passengers and crew aboard, with the sole exception of Ramesh, who occupied seat 11A.
On that fateful day, Ramesh, clutching his phone and with bloodstains on his t-shirt, limped from the smoldering wreckage in a state of profound shock. Five months later, the disbelief persists.
“It is miracle, isn’t it,” Ramesh, a U.K. national whose native language is Gujarati, shared with CBS News partner BBC News. “Still, I not believing, I am only one survivor.”
Among the 241 individuals lost on the plane was Ramesh’s younger brother, Ajay, who was seated mere rows away. “I’m luckiest man, but also, I lost everything. My brother, for me, I lost my brother.”
Ramesh has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, haunted by the grim memories of that day. He also continues to suffer from physical injuries.
“It is very painful for me to explain that happened, still. I can’t say anything about that now,” he conveyed to the BBC.
“Now I’m alone. I just sit in my room alone, not talking with my wife, my son.
I just like to be alone in my house.”
In the immediate aftermath of India’s worst aviation disaster, CBS News was present at the crash site and pressed Air India officials for responses to the grieving families. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson stated shortly after the crash, “Investigations will take time, but anything we can do now, we are doing. We understand that people are eager for information … For now, our teams are working around the clock to support passengers, crew and their families – as well as investigators – however we can.”
However, Ramesh’s legal team contends that Air India has yet to provide adequate support or compensation, citing an interim offer from the airline of less than $30,000.
In a statement to CBS News, Air India affirmed that “support through what must have been an unimaginable period” for Ramesh remains its “absolute priority.” The airline indicated it had requested to meet with him and would “continue to reach out, and we very much hope to receive a positive response.”
The precise cause of the catastrophic crash remains unconfirmed. A preliminary report released in July by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau indicated that cockpit cutoff switches for the fuel supply to both of the Boeing 787’s engines were activated, sequentially within one second, leading to a complete loss of engine thrust.