In the seemingly hopeless and horrifying disaster, a miracle has appeared. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 people crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad on the afternoon of June 12, causing a major fire that killed 241 people in the cabin. But an unimaginable thing happened: a passenger - the person sitting in seat 11A - survived.
The man, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, a British citizen of Indian descent, was returning to London after a visit to his hometown.
No one expected it, in the pile of ruins, smoke and black debris, he stepped out again - with a blood- stained white T-shirt, dusty dark pants, and a gaunt appearance from a leg injury.
The video recorded by people spread rapidly on social networks. In the clip, Vishwash Kumar wandered around the scene, his eyes panicked but he was still alive. A scene that shocked both the rescue team and witnesses.
"We couldn't believe our eyes," said a firefighter. Just a few hours ago, the police confirmed that no one survived.
Chief of Police Ahmedabad, Professor Malik confirmed: "We found a survivor in Chair 11A. He is being treated at the hospital. It is not yet possible to confirm the final number of people killed because the plane crashed into a residential area."
Lying in the hospital with injuries to his chest and legs, Vishwash told the hindustan Times: About 30 seconds after takeoff, I heard a loud explosion, then the plane crashed. Things happen so quickly.
He said in tears that he was looking for his brother Ajay Kumar Rakesh, 45 years old, sitting in another row of seats.
Cousin Nayan Kumar, 27 years old, shared outside his home in Leicester (UK): Mr. Vishwash called back in tears. He just said: I don't know how I got out of the plane....
The Air India flight took off at 14:32 from Ahmedabad Airport, heading to London. According to data from the control station, the plane only flew for 32 seconds before losing altitude and falling straight into the dormitory of doctors at the medical school. The fire broke out from 100,000 liters of aviation fuel, making rescue work extremely difficult. At least 5 people underground have died, the number may increase.
The fire was so big that rescue teams could not reach it in time, said Indian Home Minister Amit Shah. A terrible disaster.
Sumeet Sabharwal, a captain with 8,200 flight hours, signaled for a mayday emergency before the plane went out of control. Also flying was the vice-captain Clive Kundar with 1,100 hours of experience.
Known as one of the most modern and safe passenger aircraft in the world, the Boeing 787-8 was once a symbol of Indian aviation. But security cameras at Ahmedabad airport showed that despite taking off normally, the plane did not reach the standard altitude, hovered for a few seconds, then lost altitude, and fell as unable to hold back.
The Civil Aviation Authority of India, along with experts from the UK and Boeing, are urgently investigating the cause.
