Sole Survivor of Air India Plane Crash Discharged; Carries Brother’s Body for Final Rites

A week after the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that claimed 270 lives, the sole survivor, Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, was discharged from the city's Civil Hospital. Soon after, he accompanied the mortal remains of his brother, Ajay, for the last rites in their hometown of Diu.

According to news agency PTI, Vishwas, who was seated in 11A on the ill-fated flight to London, was seen carrying Ajay’s body to the cremation ground in Diu. The cremation took place after DNA testing confirmed Ajay’s identity.

Vishwas, a 40-year-old British national, had traveled to India along with his brother to visit family in Diu. Both were aboard AI flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12.

In a video that surfaced after the crash, Vishwas was seen limping toward an ambulance, visibly injured but conscious. Speaking to reporters later, he recounted how the section of the plane where he was seated landed on the ground floor of the BJ Medical College hostel. That unexpected location, he believes, gave him a chance to survive.

“When I saw the plane’s door was broken, I told myself I could try to get out. Eventually, I managed to walk away from the wreckage,” he said.

The crash killed 270 people, including all 241 passengers and crew members on board, as well as 29 people on the ground. The flight was en route to London’s Gatwick Airport when it went down. In the final moments before the crash, the pilot issued a distress “mayday” call, according to the last recorded transmission.