The British survivor of the Air India plane crash has spoken of the horror of watching people dying in front of his eyes - and revealed how he escaped the wreckage.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh told DD News “I still can’t believe how I survived” as he spoke from his hospital bed on Friday, the day after miraculously walking away from the disaster in Ahmedabad.
The 40-year-old told the broadcaster the plane felt like it was “stuck in the air” shortly after take-off before lights began flickering green and white.
He added: “It suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.”
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The Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner struck a medical college as it crashed in a fireball on Thursday, killing the other 241 people on board.
It is one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British nationals killed, and the first involving a 787.
Speaking to DD News about the crash, Mr Ramesh said: “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.”
Mr Ramesh was in seat 11A, next to one of the aircraft’s emergency exits.
Addressing what happened before the incident, Mr Ramesh told the broadcaster: “When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air.
“Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white.
“The aircraft wasn’t gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.”
He added: “At first, I thought I was dead. Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage.
“I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out.”
Mr Ramesh said: “I don’t know how I survived.
“I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me … I walked out of the rubble.”
When the plane came down just minutes after takeoff, it crashed into a medical college killing at least five medical students and injuring 50 more.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site on Friday, with video footage also showing him talking to Mr Ramesh in hospital.
Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing.
Aviation experts have suggested a number of possibilities, from both engines failing – possibly due to a bird strike, as happened in the so-called Miracle on the Hudson in 2009 – to the flaps on the aircraft’s wings not being set to the correct position for take-off.
UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy confirmed US teams from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board were also heading to India with support from Boeing and GE Aerospace.
But he told reporters it was “way too premature” to ground Boeing 787s in the aftermath of the crash.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said any British nationals requiring consular assistance, or who have concerns about family or friends, should call 020 7008 5000.
