One guy has miraculously escaped the catastrophic Air India airline disaster that happened earlier Thursday (June 12), according to Indian police.
At 6:25 p.m. local time this evening, Air India’s AI 171 flight, which was headed for London Gatwick, was scheduled to land in the United Kingdom.
But after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport in India, the aircraft crashed into Meghani Nagar, a residential neighbourhood.
The plane colliding with a medical college dorm has also been verified by authorities.
Air India reports that 242 people were on board. The carrier stated, “Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.”
Officials have recently confirmed that one guy survived the incident, despite the police commissioner’s initial suggestion that there were none.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik told ANI, “The police found one survivor in seat 11A. One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment.”
“Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area.”
Since then, the man has been recognised as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British-Indian, and he has been discussing the incident with the local media.
Ramesh told the Hindustan Times that soon after the plane took control, he heard a “loud noise.”
“It all happened so quickly,” he said. “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.”
Ramesh informed the Hindustan Times that he was sitting in row 11A on the plane, but his brother, who was also on board, was sitting in a completely different row.
In a statement issued in the last few hours, Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran expressed his sympathies to the impacted individuals.
He said, “With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India flight, AI171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event.”
“At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families. We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.”
“Further updates will be shared as we receive more verified information. An emergency centre has been activated and support team have been set up for families.”
In a statement attributed to Chandrasekaran, the Tata Group, the company that controls Air India, also stated that it will cover the medical costs of those hurt as well as provide compensation to the families of all individuals on board.