Lone Air India Survivor Carries Brother’s Coffin After Crash
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Helps Bury Brother Lost in Tragedy
The only known survivor of last week’s devastating Air India crash, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, has helped carry the coffin of his brother, Ajay Ramesh, during an emotional funeral held in their hometown of Diu, western India.
Still visibly injured and covered in bandages on his face and arms, 40-year-old Ramesh joined mourners to lay his brother to rest just days after miraculously walking away from the wreckage of a doomed Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
The aircraft, en route to London, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 270 people — including passengers, crew, and nearly 30 individuals on the ground.
Ramesh, who had been hospitalized since the crash, insisted on attending the funeral. He was among the pallbearers, carrying Ajay’s coffin on his shoulder through the rain-soaked streets of Diu, flanked by grieving family members, including their mother, who walked beside him in a blue sari.
The community, still reeling from the loss of 14 others in the same crash, turned out in large numbers despite the downpour. Many stood in solemn silence as the procession made its way to the cremation grounds.
According to first responders, no one can explain how Ramesh managed to survive the fiery crash that destroyed the aircraft and caused widespread devastation. He was seated in 11A, just a few rows away from his brother.
In a moment of desperation, he tried to re-enter the burning fuselage in search of Ajay before being pulled back by rescuers.
A now-viral video captured Ramesh walking out of the crash site, engulfed in smoke and flames, guided by ambulance supervisor Satinder Singh Sandhu.
Sandhu, who was eating lunch when the plane went down, rushed to the scene believing it was a car accident.
“The smoke was thick and dark — at first, we couldn’t believe it was a plane,” he said.
Sandhu helped Ramesh to safety, unaware at the time that he was the only survivor. “He was injured, shaken, and kept trying to go back to the crash,” Sandhu recounted. “He kept saying his brother was trapped and needed help.”
Later, Ramesh would tell India’s DD News that he couldn’t leave his brother behind. “I just wanted to find him,” he said. “When I opened my eyes, I thought I was dead. I still don’t know how I got out.”
Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos, pain, and disbelief. A local woman was seen screaming in anguish after losing her son, a tea vendor near the crash site.
Another security guard suffered burns. Sandhu’s team treated as many as they could on the scene before transporting the injured to a nearby trauma center.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash. The aircraft’s black box — including the cockpit voice and flight data recorders — has been recovered and sent for analysis to determine what went wrong.
For now, Vishwashkumar Ramesh’s survival stands as a haunting miracle — one overshadowed by profound personal loss.
As he laid his brother to rest, his presence at the funeral served as both a symbol of grief and a rare testament to resilience in the face of tragedy.
Lone Air India Survivor Carries Brother’s Coffin After Crash