The only known survivor of the tragic Air India Express crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, managed to escape by jumping out of an emergency exit, according to local authorities.
The crash involved a London-bound flight carrying 242 people. The survivor, a 40-year-old man named Ramesh Viswashkumar, had been seated near an emergency exit when the plane went down. Speaking from his hospital bed, he described the chaos and horror that followed the crash. “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,” he recalled. “Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
It remains unclear whether Viswashkumar managed to jump out before or after the plane made impact. A video circulating on social media showed a man in a bloodstained white t-shirt and dark pants limping down a street. He appeared disoriented and was being helped by medics. The man in the footage bore a strong resemblance to Viswashkumar, sporting bruises and a goatee similar to those seen in photos of him recovering in hospital. In the video, bystanders could be heard asking about other passengers. The man replied, “They’re all inside.”
A photo shared online of Viswashkumar’s boarding pass indicated he was seated in seat 11A. He told local press that his brother, Ajay, had been sitting in a different row and asked for help to locate him. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
Authorities confirmed Viswashkumar was seated near the emergency exit and escaped by jumping out through the emergency door. A senior police officer stated that efforts to identify additional survivors were still underway. “Chances are that there might be more survivors among the injured who are being treated in the hospital,” the officer said.
A family member of Viswashkumar based in Britain confirmed he had survived but declined to provide additional details. A cousin, speaking from Leicester in the UK, said Viswashkumar had made contact by phone and reassured the family of his condition. “He only said that he was fine, nothing else,” the cousin shared, adding that the family had received no word about Ajay.
The aircraft crashed into a residential area, colliding with a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunchtime. The crash is now being considered the world’s deadliest aviation disaster in a decade, with more than 240 confirmed fatalities. Some of the deceased were individuals on the ground.
Initial death toll reports had mistakenly placed the number at 294, but authorities later corrected this due to body parts being counted more than once. As of now, Viswashkumar remains the sole known survivor.
