In a remarkable twist of fate, passenger Ramesh Vishwakarma Bucharvada emerged as the sole survivor of Thursday’s catastrophic Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad, having reportedly jumped from the doomed aircraft before impact.
The survivor, who occupied seat 11A according to official manifests, was seen walking in a local video and is currently receiving treatment. Ahmedabad City Police Commissioner GS Malik noted the crash’s residential impact zone likely caused additional ground casualties, telling AP: “Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained.”
Data from Aerolopa, an aviation seating database, reveals seat 11A on Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners occupies the first row of Economy Class on the aircraft’s right side – two rows forward of the wing section. This location near emergency exits may have provided critical escape advantages.
BBC reports that Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is a British national. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik confirmed news agency ANI there was one survivor of the Dreamliner flight.
Speaking to Indian news agency ANI, Malik says the survivor “has been in the hospital and is under treatment”. Indian media reports allege they have spoken to Vishwash in hospital. He shared his boarding pass which showed his name and seat number of 11A.
They reported him saying: “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.”