'Miracle' I'm still alive, says Air India jet crash survivor

The sole survivor of a plane crash that killed 241 people has said it is a “miracle” he is still alive, but the death of his brother “took all my happiness”.

- JOSH PAYNE

Speaking almost four months on from the Air India crash in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said the incident had left him with constant “flashbacks”.

The 39-year-old described it as a “miracle” that he survived the disaster, but said the death of his brother Ajay, who was on the same flight, meant his family had “lost everything”.

Mr Ramesh, who is based in Leicester, said talking about the crash itself was still “very painful”, and his advisers have said he still has not spoken about the incident with close family.

The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June, killing everyone on board other than Mr Ramesh.

Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities.

Besides those on board flight AI171, another 19 people also died and 67 were seriously injured.

Mr Ramesh’s advisers, Sanjiv Patel and Radd Seiger, have criticised the care he has received since the crash, saying he has been treated like a “name on a spreadsheet”.

They have appealed to the airline’s chief executive, Campbell Wilson, to meet with them so he can hear about Mr Ramesh’s current situation - claiming he has “ignored repeated written requests”.

Air India said in a statement that an offer of a meeting with senior leaders from the airline’s parent company, Tata Group, has been made, and said care for the families of the crash victims, including Mr Ramesh, “remains our absolute priority”.

It is understood an interim payment has been accepted and transferred to Mr Ramesh.