When & where did the Air India flight crash? Piers Morgan discusses the "truly astonishing" plight of the "sole survivor" in the tragedy

British journalist Piers Morgan shared insights on the sole survivor of the recent Air India plane crash. On Thursday, June 12, Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787-8, also known as a Dreamliner, bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed in a residential area in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff, as reported by the Guardian.

Among the 232 passengers and 10 crew members, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national seated in 11A of the aircraft, survived. Reflecting on Vishwash Kumar Ramesh’s miraculous survival, Piers Morgan wrote on X,

"Amid all the horror of the Air India plane crash, this story of British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh from Leicester, who was in seat 11a, being the sole survivor and walking away with just a few scratches, is truly astonishing," Morgan captioned the post.

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More about the Air India plane crash

The Air India flight AI171 took off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 13:39 local time and was bound to land at London Gatwick at 18:25 BST.

The flight, including 169 Indians, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese nationals, and 1 Canadian, crashed within 30 seconds of take off on Thursday, in a hostel in Ahmedabad's Meghani Nagar, where resident doctors from BJ Medical College were staying, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The flight that took off from runway 23 lost signals after it was 625ft above ground, shortly after the pilot issued a Mayday distress call. The eyewitness at the airport reported unusual engine noise as the aircraft took off.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old businessman, the sole survivor of the plane crash, was sitting in 11A next to the emergency exit. His brother was sitting across the aisle in 11J, who did not survive. In a statement to DD News, Vishwash Kumar stated,

"Even I can't believe how I came out of it alive. For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive. I still can't believe how I survived."

Rescue personnel looking at the wreckage at the site of the Air India flight crash (Image via Getty)

In a statement to the Hindustan Times, Vishwash Kumar remarked,

"When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the shol

Ramesh shared that the side he was sitting on crashed onto the ground floor of the building, adding that as the plane crashed, the broken door on his side made some space from which he jumped out.

"The door must've broken on impact. There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me, it was open. I ran. I don't know how," Vishwash Kumar said.

Meanwhile, Bhoomi Chauhan, a resident of Bharuch, Gujarat, miraculously missed the Air India flight that killed hundreds, which ultimately saved her life. In an interview, Bhoomi shared that the Ahmedabad traffic delayed her arrival at the check-in gate by 10 minutes. She added that the airport staff informed her that her late check-in could delay the flight.

"When I came to know that the flight had crashed, I was totally numb. I thank my mother Goddess that I am safe, but the incident is absolutely terrifying," Bhoomi added.

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Vijay Rupani, the 16th chief minister of Gujarat, who served from August 2016 to September 2021, was also among the deceased 242 passengers on board.