New Video Shows Sole Survivor Walking Away From Air India Plane Crash As Wreckage Burns Behind Him

Brand-new footage has captured the exact moment the only person to survive the Air India plane crash escaped from the blazing wreckage.

On June 12, 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British citizen, did the unthinkable—he managed to crawl out and walk away from the fiery remains of the Air India flight. Tragically, all 241 other passengers and crew members onboard did not survive.

The ill-fated AI171 jet, which was supposed to land in London, also led to several deaths on the ground. It crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad, India, striking a residential building that housed doctors from a nearby medical college. The confirmed death toll has now reached 270 people.

Investigators are still working to figure out what caused the Boeing 787-8 to crash, marking it as one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent years.

Ramesh had been seated in 11a during the flight and is the sole survivor of the crash, which saw the aircraft engulfed in flames after it slammed into the neighborhood below.

Speaking from his hospital bed, the father-of-one from Leicester shared how he managed to unfasten his seatbelt. He then pushed himself through a gap using his leg and crawled his way out to safety.

Ramesh was seen limping through the streets after the crash Republic

"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 hospital." he shared with local news reporters.

The powerful moment when Ramesh emerged from the debris has now been shown in video footage.

The official death toll has climbed to 270 Raju Shinde/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

In the clip, he’s seen slowly walking away, clearly shaken and limping, while massive black smoke clouds and blazing flames pour from the jet and the surrounding building just a short distance behind him.

At the same time, people in the nearby streets can be heard desperately calling for emergency help.

One passerby came to Ramesh’s aid. They helped guide the injured man away from the crash scene and handed him over to paramedics as more people ran toward him to help.

Ramesh had been flying home to the UK with his brother, Ajay. Sadly, his brother didn’t make it. Ajay had been sitting in the same row of the plane.

In an interview with DD News, a state-run Indian media outlet, Ramesh revealed that the part of the plane he was sitting in had remained near the ground and didn’t make contact with the building during the crash.

No one else on the plane survived the crash Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Despite the emergency exit being damaged, Ramesh explained that he didn’t need to jump out. In his words, he said he 'just walked out'.

Although he isn’t sure about the full sequence of events, Ramesh remembered hearing a loud bang and seeing the lights inside the plane start to flicker just moments after takeoff.

"I saw people dying in front of my eyes - the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me." he told the Indian broadcaster. "For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too, but when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive."

He told local news media how he managed to survive the ordeal DD India/YouTube

"I still can't believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble."

Doctors treating Ramesh have said his injuries are thankfully minor. He has scrapes on his arm and swelling around his eyes, but he is considered to be in stable condition.

Investigators were able to recover the plane’s black box from the wreckage, which had landed on a nearby building’s roof. It’s expected to offer a detailed record of the moments leading up to the crash, including cockpit conversations, radio messages, and any alarm triggers.

Air India’s CEO and Managing Director, Campbell Wilson, has announced that the families of both the victims and survivors will receive an interim compensation of 25 lakh rupees, which is around £21,000 or $28,000. This is in addition to the 1 crore rupees—roughly £85,000 or $115,000 already committed by Tata Sons.