The only survivor of a plane crash that killed 241 people has spoken of his struggles since the air disaster.
Speaking almost four months after the Air India crash in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh revealed the toll it has taken on him and his relatives, and his frustration with the airline after it promised to treat victims “like family”.
The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on June 12, killing everyone on board other than Mr Ramesh.
About 169 Indian passengers and crew and 52 British passengers died on flight AI171, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities.
On the ground, another 19 people died and 67 were seriously injured.
Mr Ramesh, who had been sitting in seat 11A, managed to escape by crawling through a gap in the fuselage. While recovering in hospital, he told local media he had managed to unbuckle himself and used his leg to push his way through the opening.
He recalled how the lights inside the aircraft “started flickering” almost immediately after take-off, then the plane felt like it was “stuck in the air”, before it “suddenly slammed into a building and exploded”.
Video filmed by a bystander showed him walking through smoke towards an ambulance.
Mr Ramesh, 39, from Leicester in the UK, said on Monday: “Yes it’s a miracle I survived, but I lost everything, I lost my brother.”
He said he was mentally and physically “broken” and his mother, father and younger brother “totally broke down” after the crash.
“I lost everything – my happiness. God gave me life but took all my happiness, and from my family. It’s very difficult for me and my family.”
He said the crash has left him with constant flashbacks and said recalling it was still too painful to talk about.
Mr Ramesh’s advisers, Sanjiv Patel and Radd Seiger, have criticised the care he has received since the crash, saying he has been treated like a “name on a spreadsheet”.
They have appealed to the airline’s chief executive Campbell Wilson to meet them so he can hear about Mr Ramesh’s current situation – claiming he has “ignored repeated written requests”.
Air India said an offer has been made of a meeting with senior leaders from the airline’s parent company, Tata Group. It said care for the families of the crash victims, including Mr Ramesh, “remains our absolute priority”.
It is understood an interim payment has been accepted and transferred to Mr Ramesh. The airline said it would pay the families of each victim £85,000.
A preliminary report into the incident from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found both of the plane’s fuel switches moved to the “cut-off” position immediately after take-off, stopping fuel supply to the engine. This has led to questions over whether the crash was deliberate.
Mr Ramesh said the incident, and losing his brother, “completely brought down my family” and he could not bring himself to speak about his first memory was after the crash.
In a statement after the interview, he said he was “broken” and does not sleep because of flashbacks.
He said: “I just stay awake, I sleep maybe three to four hours.”
Air India 'failing' to keep promise
Mr Ramesh wore a New York Yankees cap to the interview in memory of his brother, Ajay, who frequently wore an identical cap, including on the flight.
He said: “My uncle, my cousin, my friends, Sanjiv, Radd – they have given me good support – they’re always here.
“Mentally and physically – I’m not talking about too much with my family as I’m in my room, alone. I’m just sitting on my bed and thinking.
“I lost my brother, 35 years old – every day I’m struggling.”
He said: “On the day of the accident, after the initial shock, I felt sick to my stomach, the thought of the trauma unfolding in so many families. Since then, I’ve done what I can to help whoever reached out.
“Air India promised to treat them as family, but four months on, I can tell you, they are failing.”
Mr Patel continued: “The families have been dignified in their grief, but they’ve been treated like a name on a spreadsheet, where’s the personal care?
“People have been patient, but … the frustration is growing.
“I’d like to believe that Air India’s executives meant what they promised, unstinting support for the victims of this devastating tragedy, and perhaps they are unaware of the way they are failing in carrying it out.
“Having ignored repeated written requests, this is a public appeal, on behalf of Vishwash and the family and the wider community, an appeal to CEO Campbell Wilson to come and meet us so he can hear directly about the challenges and failings and be given a chance to put things right.”
Mr Seiger told PA: “You have one chance to do the right thing after disasters like this.
“We are sitting next to the sole survivor of this major airline crash, and as far as I can make out, he is being treated like a number on a spreadsheet.
“Not only has his life been turned upside down, but his entire family’s life has been turned upside down and the CEO of Air India said after the crash he promised full and unstinting support for victims.”
In a statement issued in response to the claims made by Mr Ramesh’s advisers, Air India said: “We are deeply conscious of our responsibility to provide Mr Ramesh with support through what must have been an unimaginable period.
“Care for him – and indeed all families affected by the tragedy – remains our absolute priority.
“Senior leaders from across Tata Group continue to visit families to express their deepest condolences.
“An offer has been made to Mr Ramesh’s representatives to arrange such a meeting, we will continue to reach out and we very much hope to receive a positive response.
“We are keenly aware this continues to be an incredibly difficult time for all affected and continue to offer the support, compassion, and care we can in the circumstances.”
