The sole survivor of June’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, India, expressed to BBC News that he considers himself the “luckiest man” alive, yet finds the description ironic given he is grieving his brother and enduring severe physical and psychological trauma from the incident.
Viswashkumar Ramesh, aged 39, emerged as the only individual from the debris of the Boeing 787, which was en route to London and crashed shortly after departing Ahmedabad.
He conveyed to BBC News that despite his survival feeling miraculous, the death of his younger brother and the profound impact of the event have prevented him from resuming a normal existence.
“I lost my brother as well. My brother is my backbone,” he stated, adding, “For the last few years, he was always supporting me.”
His advisors informed the outlet that since returning to his Leicester residence, Ramesh has contended with severe post-traumatic stress, finding it difficult to communicate with his wife and four-year-old son.
“Now I’m alone,” he remarked. “I just sit in my room alone, not talking with my wife, my son. I just like to be alone in my house.”
The Air India flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner destined for London’s Gatwick Airport, plummeted into Meghani Nagar, a residential zone, merely five minutes after its 1:38 p.m. local time takeoff. A total of 242 passengers and crew were aboard the aircraft.
Footage from the crash site depicted smoke billowing from the wreckage as Ramesh, displaying minor visible injuries, staggered away. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi subsequently visited him in the hospital, where Ramesh recounted unbuckling his seatbelt and exiting the fuselage through an opening adjacent to his seat, 11A.
Alongside local community leader Sanjiv Patel and family spokesman Radd Seiger, Ramesh shared that recalling the crash continues to be excessively agonizing.
“I’m thinking all night, I’m suffering mentally,” he informed BBC News. “Every day is painful for the whole family.”
Ramesh indicated that he persistently suffers from chronic pain due to injuries to his leg, shoulder, knee, and back, which impede his ability to work or drive.
“When I walk, not walk properly, slowly, slowly, my wife helps,” he conveyed.
His advisors mentioned that he received a PTSD diagnosis during his hospitalization in India but has not had subsequent treatment since his return to the U.K.
They characterized him as “lost and broken,” advocating for senior Air India representatives to engage in discussions with him and other families impacted by the disaster.
“They’re struggling immensely, financially,” Patel stated. “It’s devastated his family.”
Seiger asserted that numerous appeals for a meeting with the airline have either been disregarded or rejected.
“The people who should be sitting here today are the executives of Air India,” he declared. “Please come and sit down with us so that we can work through this together to try and alleviate some of this suffering.”
Digital has sought comment from Air India regarding the situation.
Conversely, Air India, a Tata Group company, informed BBC News in a statement that its leadership has consistently visited victims’ families and that an invitation to meet Ramesh’s representatives “remains open.”
The airline affirmed that the welfare of Ramesh and other individuals impacted by the crash “remains our absolute priority.”