Leaving hospital with wounds still fresh, the sole survivor of last week’s Air India plane crash solemnly carried the coffin of his brother, performing the last rites for a life lost in the deadly disaster.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, appeared overcome with grief as he led the funeral procession through the streets of the western Indian coastal town of Diu on Wednesday.
Ramesh, who was discharged from hospital a day prior, had bandages on his face from cuts and bruises sustained after flight AI171 traveling to London’s Gatwick Airport from the western city of Ahmedabad plunged to the ground seconds after takeoff last Thursday, killing 241 people on board.
How Ramesh escaped with a few wounds is being described as nothing short of a miracle.
“I don’t know how I survived,” he told Indian state broadcaster DD News while in the hospital, explaining how he unbuckled himself from his seat in 11A – an emergency exit seat – shortly after the crash and walked away from the scene.
“For some time, I thought I was going to die. But when I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,” he said.
He and his brother, who had been sitting a few rows away, had been returning to the UK after spending a few weeks visiting family in India.
Video of Ramesh stumbling from the crash has been viewed widely on news channels and across social media. Flames can be seen billowing behind him, with thick plumes of smoke rising high into the sky.
Authorities tasked with identifying the victims’ bodies have described just how difficult that process has been. High temperatures from the burning fuel left “no chance” to rescue passengers, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah said, making bodies difficult to recognize.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was carrying 125,000 liters – enough to last a 10-hour flight from Ahmedabad to London – but it crashed less than a minute after takeoff, plunging into a hostel for medical students, killing several on the ground.
As of Thursday, more than 150 bodies have been handed over to loved ones, according to health officials, with funerals taking place in various cities across the country.
Investigators, meanwhile, are looking at the wreckage to determine what could have caused one of the worst air crashes India has seen in decades.
A mayday call from the cockpit was made to air traffic control shortly before the crash, Indian civil aviation authorities said.
Both black boxes, the plane’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, are now being analyzed for valuable clues that could help determine the cause. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are leading the probe into the crash with assistance from the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as officials from Boeing.
The Indian government has also set up a separate high-level committee to examine what led to the crash. The committee is expected to file their preliminary findings within three months.
Air India – the country’s flagship carrier – said on Wednesday it is conducting safety inspections across all of its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet.
“Out of total 33 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days,” it said in a statement on X.
Meanwhile, it has reduced international services on its widebody aircraft by 15% due to the ongoing inspections and the conflict in the Middle East, it added.
For days, families of victims have gathered near morgues awaiting to collect the bodies of their loved ones and searching for answers.
Grieving families
As Ramesh laid his brother to rest Wednesday, another family around 160 miles south in the city of Mumbai, performed burials for four members killed in the crash.
Imtiaz Ali Syed, 42, whose brother Javed, sister-in-law, nephew and niece were on board the Air India flight, said he received their bodies from authorities in Ahmedabad and brought them to the family’s hometown on Wednesday.
Syed’s sister, who also lives in the UK, took a direct flight from Mumbai to London, he said. But Javed and his family were on a different flight via Ahmedabad.
He described his disbelief when he learned that Javed was on the ill-fated Air India plane. “Someone woke me up and said a plane crashed in Ahmedabad and asked me to check what flight Javed was on,” Syed recalled.
Syed fondly described his brother as someone who was “always available” for their family.
“He looked after my grandmother’s medicines, he looked after my mother, he would take care of our sister,” he said, describing the unbearable pain of losing Javed.
“Within a week or fifteen days, or a month, maybe he will call,” Syed said. “Telling me he is somewhere.”