In UK, Air India plane crash survivor’s kin mourn loss of brother

In UK, Air India plane crash survivor’s kin mourn loss of brother

In UK, Air India plane crash survivor’s kin mourn loss of brother ByDanish Khan, London Jun 14, 2025 04:21 AM IST Share Via Copy Link Ramesh, a British national of Indian-origin, who is the lone survivor of the crash in which all other passengers — 241 including 12 crew members — perished.

The photo of Viswash Kumar Ramesh, bruised and battered, limping away from the debris of the Air India flight that crashed seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday has become one of the defining images of the first aviation disaster in decades.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets and enquires about the health condition of Viswash Kumar Ramesh, the lone survivor of the Air India AI-171 flight crash, at a hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday. (ANI Photo)

Ramesh’s photo and the story of his miraculous escape, along with those of the mangled Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, the charred bodies and the crumbling hostel building that the jet crashed into were splashed on the front pages of newspapers in the UK.

Also Read: Air India crash site hit 1,000 deg C; lava-like temperature left little scope for escape

Ramesh, a British national of Indian-origin, who is the lone survivor of the crash in which all other passengers — 241 including 12 crew members — perished.

“I don’t believe how I survived. For some time, I thought I was also going to die,” the 40-year-old Ramesh told reporters from his hospital bed in India.

At his home in Leicester, central England, however, Ramesh’s family oscillated between joy at his escape and grief at the loss of his brother.

Also Read: London-bound Air India flight returning to Mumbai, says report

“We are happy Viswash has been saved, but on the other hand we are just heartbroken about Ajay,” Hiren Kantilal, Ramesh’s cousin, said.

Ajay was also on the same flight seated on 11J while Ramesh was on 11A. Their younger brother, Nayan, said the two were on the return journey home after a vacation in India.

Ramesh, who ran a confectionary business in London since 2003, is survived by his wife and their four-year-old son.

A spokesperson from Downing Street confirmed that the UK Foreign Office has been in contact with Ramesh to offer consular support.

Also Read: ‘Devastating’: UK mourns loss of lives in Air India plane crash

Apart from Ramesh and Ajay, there were 51 other British nationals on the Air India flight. Of them, Hardik Avaiya, 27 and Vibhooti Patel, 28, have been identified as the victims.

Avaiya and Patel, both Leicester residents, had gone to India to celebrate their engagement.

Arjun Patoliya, who went to India to fulfil his wife’s dying wish to immerse her ashes in Narmada, was among the victims. “Her wish was that the ashes must be submerged in Narmada River,” said a member of the Indian Gujarati community who did not wish to be identified. Patoliya is survived by his two daughters, aged four and eight. The two girls were in London at the time of the crash.

In Wellingborough, an English town 65 miles from London, mayor Raj Mishra condoled the death of Raxa Modha, 55, who accompanied her husband Kishor to India. “Kishor wanted to be in his hometown in his final days. He died on April 26, and Raxa, along with her daughter-in-law and grandson, was returning to the UK,” a person aware of the matter said.

The Muslim Community in Gloucester paid tributes to Akeel Nanabawa, who along with his wife and four-year-old child, were killed in the crash.

The Indian High Commission in London has been receiving several queries from family members and relatives of those affected regarding visas to India. “We are facilitating it all at the high commission,” said an official.