The Air India Flight 171 crashed into the hostel block of B J Medical College, Ahmedabad, on June 12 this year, in less than a minute after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The accident claimed the lives of 241 people – 229 passengers, 12 crew members and 19 on the ground.
Amid the wreckage, 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh from Leicester, UK emerged as the only survivor. Seated in 11A by the emergency exit, he managed to escape after the fuselage tore into the college hostel. Yet survival has come at a heavy cost. Vishwash lost his brother, Ajay, who was seated across the aisle, and has since been overwhelmed by grief, survivor’s guilt and deep psychological trauma.
Treatment and trauma in India
Three months on, Vishwash remains in India undergoing psychiatric treatment. According to his cousin Sunny, he still suffers from nightmares and insomnia. “He wakes up in the middle of the night and struggles to sleep again. He avoids speaking even to relatives abroad,” Sunny said.
His wife has returned to the UK with their young son for the school term, but Vishwash has stayed behind with extended family. “[My son] still misses his dad. Everything happened in front of him and the main thing is he lost his brother,” she told The Times. “I’m not sure when he’s coming back to the UK as his treatment is still going on.”
Relatives fear he may never set foot on a plane again. “I think he will stay over there because he would be too frightened to get on a plane again,” his brother-in-law told the Daily Mail.
Survivor’s memories of the crash
In interviews shortly after the disaster, Vishwash described the terrifying sequence of events. “Within five to ten seconds of take-off it felt like the plane was stuck in the air,” he recalled. “Suddenly, the lights started flickering green and white. Then the plane rammed into some establishment.”
The impact scattered bodies and debris across the hostel grounds. “When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance,” he told reporters.
He was treated for chest, eye and foot injuries at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital before being discharged on 17 June, the same day his brother’s remains were released to the family. The following day, a poignant video showed him carrying Ajay’s ashes on his shoulders during the funeral in Diu.
Families demand accountability
While Vishwash struggles with his recovery, bereaved families of other victims have voiced anger at Indian authorities. Some relatives wrote to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, accusing officials of mishandling remains and failing to provide clear answers. “We are not asking for sympathy but for accountability, responsibility and action,” their letter stated.
Compensation
Air India has made interim compensation payments of around £21,500 to most families, with Tata Sons separately pledging £85,000 per family from a charitable fund. However, lawyers argue further liability may arise depending on the investigation’s findings. Ramesh could be eligible for compensation covering his physical injuries and psychological trauma, though his wife has confirmed uncertainty over whether the family has yet received any payment from Air India.
What do we know about the plane crash investigation?
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India released a preliminary report in July, suggesting the fuel-control switches may have abruptly cut off after take-off. A leaked cockpit voice recording fuelled speculation, capturing one pilot asking the other, “Why did he cut-off?” only to receive the reply, “I did not.”
Families criticised the report as incomplete and potentially misleading, with some suggesting it cast unfair suspicion on the pilots. James Healy-Pratt of Keystone Law, representing more than 20 British families, accused the AAIB of “a lack of transparency” and urged publication of a clearer interim report.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vishwash in hospital the day after the tragedy, hailing his survival as miraculous. But for the Leicester businessman, the ordeal has left scars far deeper than the physical injuries now healed.
As his wife and child resume life in Britain, the question remains whether Vishwash will ever rejoin them. For now, he remains in India, battling nightmares, silence and grief. “He doesn’t know how he came out alive,” his cousin had said. “But he is haunted by the thought that his brother did not.”