A devastating plane crash has claimed the lives of 241 passengers and crew after an Air India flight from Ahmedabad, western India, crashed near London’s Gatwick Airport. At least eight local residents on the ground, including four medical students, were also killed. Remarkably, one passenger survived — a 40-year-old British national, Viswashkumar Ramesh — who miraculously escaped the wreckage of Air India Flight AI882 on June 12, 2025.
Authorities confirmed that Ramesh was seated near an emergency exit in seat 11A, a detail believed to be crucial to his survival. Though injured, he managed to escape the burning fuselage moments before it fully disintegrated upon impact with a warehouse structure.
According to police and hospital officials, Ramesh sustained non-life-threatening burns and bruises and is currently recovering under medical supervision. He was traveling with his brother, who sadly perished in the crash. “I thought I was going to die… then I saw the hatch open,” Ramesh reportedly told emergency responders.
His survival has stunned officials and investigators, who now consider his account critical to understanding the sequence of events that led to the crash. As investigators analyze the black box recovered from the Boeing 787, aviation experts have called Ramesh’s survival “statistically astonishing.”
Meanwhile, tributes continue to pour in for the victims, and the Indian government has pledged full transparency throughout the investigation. Families of the victims are being offered psychological support and compensation. Ramesh remains under protection, both as a survivor and a key eyewitness to one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India’s recent history.
