An Air India plane carrying over 240 people crashed shortly after takeoff, with a British survivor claiming he was thrown from the cabin when the plane broke in two mid-air. This news, revealed by a medical worker, has sparked global concern.
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06-23, 2025Flight 171 was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, northwestern India, to London Gatwick Airport on Thursday. However, flight records, official comments, and videos show that the plane failed to climb normally after takeoff, eventually crashing into a medical school dormitory, resulting in the deaths of almost everyone on board and some people in the building.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that one passenger survived and said he visited the survivor in the hospital. A doctor named Dhaval Gameti said he examined the survivor and confirmed his identity as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. "He was disoriented and had multiple injuries all over his body," Dr. Gameti told the Associated Press. "But he seems to be out of danger." Another medical worker revealed that Ramesh told him that the plane began to descend shortly after takeoff, then suddenly broke in two, throwing him from the cabin before a huge explosion occurred.
The flight passenger list shows that Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was assigned seat 11A and had boarded the plane. The Hindustan Times reported that they interviewed Ramesh at a local hospital, who said: "Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise, and then the plane crashed. It all happened so fast." He added: "When I woke up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. The wreckage of the plane was scattered around me. Someone grabbed me, put me in an ambulance, and then took me to the hospital."
It is reported that Ramesh has lived in London for 20 years and suffered "impact injuries" to his chest, eyes, and feet. He is looking for his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, who he said was sitting in a different row. Ramesh said: "We went to Diu," referring to a coastal town about 300 kilometers southwest of Ahmedabad. "He was traveling with me, but I can't find him anymore. Please help me find him." Ramesh's cousin said that Ramesh also spoke with his family in the UK via Facetime after the crash. His cousin also confirmed that Ramesh's brother was also on the plane. "They were sitting together, but we don't know what happened to his brother. We don't know anything," he said.
Air India said that Flight 171 took off from Ahmedabad International Airport at 1:38 PM local time on Thursday (6:08 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time) with 242 passengers and crew, including 169 Indians, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian. Ramesh's relatives told Sky News UK that he was on the plane. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (from Gujarat) called the crash "heartbreaking." Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was "absolutely devastating," and King Charles of the United Kingdom said he was "utterly shocked."
Divyansh Singh, vice president of the All India Medical Association Federation, said that at least five medical students on the ground were killed and another 50 were injured. Singh said that some of them were in critical condition and many were "feared to be buried in the rubble." N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Group, which owns Air India, said that compensation of 10 million rupees ($179,147) would be provided to each family of the deceased, and medical expenses would be covered for the injured. "At this moment, words cannot adequately express our sorrow," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones and with the injured."
According to the Aviation Safety Network database, this is the first crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Boeing said they are "working to gather more information." Indian aviation regulators said the plane issued a distress signal indicating an emergency but then did not respond to calls from airport traffic control. Aviation consultant John M. Cox (CEO of Safety Operating Systems) told the Associated Press from Los Angeles that while the initial images of the crash were of poor quality, it appeared that the plane was nose-up and not climbing, which would be one of the things investigators would need to investigate. "Right now, it's all too early; we don't know much," he said. "But the 787 has a very extensive flight data monitoring system - there are thousands of parameters on the flight data recorder - so once we get the recorder, they'll know pretty quickly what happened."
(This article is jointly reported by the Associated Press and CNN)
