The sole survivor of the Air India flight to London, which was carrying 242 passengers and crashed shortly after takeoff in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, is British citizen Vishwas Kumar Ramesh.

He was sitting in seat 11A and said that the plane crashed almost immediately after takeoff. His brother was on the same flight.

“Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise and the plane crashed. It all happened very quickly,” Ramesh told the Hindustan Times from a hospital in Ahrawa, Ahmedabad.

The 40-year-old man was returning to the United Kingdom, where he had lived for 20 years, after visiting his family in India. His other brother, speaking outside their home in Leicester, East Midlands, said Vishwas had no idea how he had managed to survive.

“We were in shock when we found out. I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We are in deep mourning. He said, ‘I have no idea how I got out (alive) of the plane,’” said Nayan Kumar Ramesh.

Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who treated Ramesh, said, “He was confused and had multiple injuries all over his body, but he appears to be out of danger.”

Initial assessments suggested that all passengers had died, but local police confirmed that they had found one survivor. Video footage showed a huge explosion and thick black smoke immediately after the crash.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner burst into a huge fireball after crashing into the residential area of Meghani Nagar minutes after takeoff at 1:38 p.m. local time on Thursday, June 12.

Ramesh, who lives with his wife and child in London, was looking for his brother, who was sitting in another row. He said: "When I stood up, there were bodies around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran away. There were pieces of the plane everywhere. Someone grabbed me and put me in an ambulance, which took me to the hospital."

Air India reported that there were 169 Indian citizens, 53 British, one Canadian, and seven Portuguese on board. Gatwick Airport announced that a center was being set up to receive relatives of the passengers. | BGNES