Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Survivor Recounts Horror as Families Search for Loved Ones

As distraught families gathered at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital in Asarwa, desperate for news about their loved ones aboard the ill-fated Air India flight, one man lay in a hospital bed — alive, but shaken to his core.

Forty-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, survived the horrific crash that claimed dozens of lives just minutes after takeoff. Speaking from the general ward, his voice trembling, Vishwash recalled the terrifying moment the plane went down.

“Just thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise — and then it happened. The crash. Everything happened so fast,” he told Hindustan Times. He suffered injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet, but managed to escape the burning wreckage.

The flight — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner headed for London’s Gatwick Airport — took off at 1:39 p.m. on Thursday with 242 people on board, including crew members. Air India confirmed that 169 of the 230 passengers were Indian nationals, alongside 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff and burst into flames in a densely populated neighborhood.

Vishwash had come to India for a short visit with his family. He was flying back to London with his older brother, 45-year-old Ajay Kumar Ramesh, who was seated in a different row.

“When I woke up, there were bodies around me,” Vishwash said, still visibly shaken. “I was scared, but I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane everywhere. Someone pulled me into an ambulance and brought me here.”

Clutching his boarding pass, he spoke softly about his life in London, where he has lived for the past 20 years with his wife and child. His brother Ajay is still missing.

“We had just visited Diu,” he said, tears welling up in his eyes. “Please help me find him. I can’t find him anywhere.”

Elsewhere in the hospital, chaos and fear gripped the corridors as families continued to search for loved ones. Among them were relatives of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was reportedly also on board the flight. Sailesh Mandliya, a former aide to Rupani, was at the hospital trying to get any information.

“We’re looking for him,” Mandliya told HT. “If you find out anything, please let me know.”

As rescue teams continue their work at the crash site and investigations begin, families cling to hope — praying for a miracle in the midst of unimaginable loss.