When a plane crashes into a residential area and bursts into flames, survival seems impossible. But somehow, 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh defied those odds — and walked away.
On June 12, tragedy struck just seconds after Air India Flight AI171 took off from Ahmedabad, western India. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 jet suddenly lost control and slammed into a residential building used as doctors’ housing near Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College. The fiery wreck left a staggering 270 people dead, including all other passengers and crew on board, and dozens on the ground. But Ramesh survived.
How one man managed to survive this horrific crash has left many stunned—including investigators, loved ones, and aviation experts. Some have even gone so far as to question Vishwash Kumar Ramesh’s story entirely. They simply don’t believe he walked away from the wreckage almost unscathed.
But now, a simulation released by AiTelly offers a jaw-dropping look at how that might’ve happened. According to the digital recreation, Ramesh either managed to jump out of the plane mid-descent through an emergency exit — or, more likely, escaped seconds after the crash through a broken emergency door, just before the aircraft was consumed by flames.
Ramesh, a father from Leicester, UK, was seated in 11A and traveling with his brother Ajay. The two were sitting in the same row, but only one made it out alive.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran,” Ramesh recalled from his hospital bed in an interview with local media, quoted by Reuters. “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.”
In nearby surveillance footage, Ramesh is seen limping, drenched in blood, as a passerby leads him to emergency responders. Despite being in the same row, his brother Ajay did not survive.
Saw people dying
Ramesh later told Indian broadcaster DD News that his section of the plane didn’t hit the building and was relatively close to the ground. The opposite side, he said, was trapped against a wall. That positioning may have saved his life.
“The emergency door was broken,” he said, “but I just walked out.”
Though authorities are still investigating the crash, experts are examining theories ranging from total engine failure to electrical issues. Ramesh remembers hearing “a loud noise” and seeing “flickering lights” moments after takeoff.
“I saw people dying in front of my eyes—the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me,” he said. “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. I walked out of the rubble.”
While answers may take time, Ramesh’s account remains a chilling glimpse into a disaster few live to tell — and a miracle that no one can fully explain.