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A London-bound passenger jet crashed in a residential area in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground — but one passenger is believed to have survived largely unscathed, according to his doctor.
Meanwhile, Air India confirmed 241 people aboard UK-bound flight killed in crash. The plane carrying 242 people, en route from Ahmedabad, India to Gatwick Airport in London, crashed Thursday afternoon.
The flight AI171 crashed onto a medical college hostel, shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the city of Ahmedabad, state of Gujarat. It was headed for Gatwick Airport in the British capital.
The survivor, Viswashkumar Ramesh, was found on seat 11A, the news outlet quoted police as saying.
According to Ramesh Vishwashkumar’s doctor, Vishwashkumar escaped largely unscathed, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Vishwashkumar had walked to the ambulance after the accident.
Ramesh Vishwashkumar, the only survivor of the plane crash, described his experiences. “There were dead bodies everywhere,” said Ramesh Vishwashkumar, who clung to life in seat 11A.
Vishwash, a British national who has lived in London with his wife and children for 20 years, came to India for a few days to visit his family. Vishwash, who was back in the UK with his brother Ajay Kumar Ramesh and was sitting in seat 11A, was the only survivor of the plane crash.
The government opened a formal investigation into the cause of the crash, and rescue teams worked into Friday morning scouring the charred wreckage with sniffer dogs.
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India’s flight 171 crashed following takeoff. “It is heartbreaking beyond words.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai told reporters that “265 bodies have reached the hospital.”
That suggests that at least 24 people died when the jet ploughed into a medical staff hostel in a blazing fireball — and that the toll may rise further as more bodies are located.
Air India’s owner company Tata said the group will provide one crore Indian Rupees ($116,863) to the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy, while also covering the medical expenses of injured and pledged support in repairing the hostel.
The airliner said 169 of the passengers on board were Indian nationals, plus 53 UK citizens, seven from Portugal, and one from Canada, in addition to two pilots and 10 members of the cabin crew.
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