“When I Opened My Eyes, I Realized I Was Still Alive”

A screenshot of a video recording taken and released by the YouTube channel Narendra Modi on June 13, 2025, shows a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40 years old, the sole survivor of the Air India flight 171 accident, at a hospital in Ahmedabad, India.

Lying on a hospital bed with sheets predominantly in light purple, Ramesh's right hand is wrapped in a bandage from the wrist to part of the palm, while his left hand is also bandaged at the elbow. His face shows abrasions that have dried and turned black on the left cheek and eyelid.

“When I opened my eyes, I realized I was still alive,” he said.

Ramesh is the sole survivor of the Air India accident that claimed the lives of 241 people. He was seated in seat number 11A on the ill-fated aircraft. The Indian national, originally from England, was en route to London when the plane crashed a few minutes after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad in northwestern India on Thursday afternoon.

The accident is one of the worst aviation disasters in India and the first accident involving the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner since the twin-engine wide-body aircraft began operations in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

Currently, Ramesh is being treated at a local government hospital. He recounted that the plane appeared to be trapped in the air for a few seconds after takeoff. He stated that the green and white lights were on, and just after that, the plane accelerated, but it seemed unable to gain altitude before crashing.

The aircraft he was on crashed to the ground floor of a building. Ramesh saw an opportunity for him to escape after the door opened. He unbuckled his seatbelt and forced himself out of the plane. Ramesh sustained burns on his left hand and managed to walk a short distance in shock before he was assisted by local residents and taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the accident site on Friday, met with the sole survivor. "I told Modi everything I witnessed. He also inquired about my health," said Ramesh from his hospital bed, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Ramesh, who took his boarding pass to the hospital, said he saw several passengers and crew members dead and parts of the plane scattered around the crash site. Ramesh also managed to update his brother on the phone and said he was fine and safe.

The black box of the Air India aircraft that crashed was found on Friday, which is likely to lead to clues about the cause of the accident that killed 241 people on board and several others on the ground.

The Boeing 787 aircraft en route to London crashed into a medical college dormitory shortly after takeoff on Thursday in a residential area of the city of Ahmedabad in the northwest.

The digital flight data recorder of the aircraft, or black box, was found on the roof near the accident site. This plane crash is among the worst aviation disasters in India.

Residents in the vicinity of the accident site, who were among the first to rush to the scene and assist in the rescue efforts, described a scale of destruction they had never seen before.

"Initially, I did not understand anything, just smoke everywhere. We could see some small parts (of the aircraft) on fire," said Indrajeet Singh Solanki. He stated that he and many others helped the injured and took them to the hospital. "We only had one goal: to save lives, no matter what happened," he said. The tragedy left him shaken.

The Indian government, assisted by a team of aviation experts, is still conducting an investigation into this aircraft accident. Separately, the Indian civil aviation regulator has also instructed Air India to carry out additional inspections on the Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliner equipped with General Electric GEnx engines. The inspection includes checking fuel parameters, cabin air compressors, engine control systems, hydraulic systems, and takeoff parameters.