Everyone thinks Viswashkumar Ramesh is the luckiest person on earth. Except him.
The 39-year-old is the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash that killed 241 people in June.
Footage shows the sole survivor of the Air India flight walking down the street in Ahmedabad in the aftermath of crash.
“It’s painful. I’m finding myself very difficult, like mentally, physically, and also my family is suffering from mentally completely,” Ramesh said.
In an Australian exclusive, the British man has given an interview to Nine’s 60 Minutes, which will air this Sunday night.
He was in seat 11A when the flight took off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, bound for London.
But just 32 seconds later, the Boeing 787 hit the ground and exploded into a massive fireball in the middle of a busy neighbourhood.
Viswash Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the plane crash, in his hospital bed in June.
To have walked away from the explosion is nothing short of a miracle. Nearly five months on though, Ramesh is still suffering, limping to his chair to sit down and talk about it.
“Physically, still in pain,” he said.
“My body like knee, back, shoulder and left-hand side is burning in my hand.”
Ramesh’s younger brother, Ajay, was also on the plane and died instantly on impact.
“It’s painful. I’m finding myself very difficult, like mentally, physically”: Viswashkumar Ramesh. Credit: 60 Minutes/NINE
“My mother, always sitting in front of my brother picture, is just crying and thinking about my brother.”
Somehow, Ramesh managed to kick open the emergency exit and miraculously walk free from the wreckage.
“The flashback has come to my face, front of my eye,” he said.
“It is painful. It is painful to speak about that.”
The sole survivor is being supported by his family’s adviser, Sanjiv Patel, and a family-appointed spokesman, Radd Seiger.
They’ve taken the difficult step of speaking publicly because Ramesh is in desperate need of help and feels abandoned by Air India.
“The senior executives of Air India made a public announcement right at the beginning [saying] we will look after those families who are victims,” Patel said.
“But in practice, the machinery has been unknown faces, emails, papers being put in front of people to sign, no understanding of what that means.”
Before the crash, Ramesh was helping his brother Ajay in the family’s fishing business in Diu, a small town on India’s west coast.
He was on his way home to England, where he’s lived for many years, when disaster struck.
Last month, he finally got back on a plane to make the brave return journey to his wife and young son in Leicester.
He’s now unable to work, and is seeking physical and mental healthcare.
“I’m staying alone in my room,” Ramesh said. “I’m not spending time with my family, like my wife and son.”
60 Minutes reporter Dimity Clancey interviewing Viswashkumar Ramesh in the UK.Credit: 60 Minutes
Along with others affected by this disaster, the Ramesh family has no answers about what went wrong on the doomed Dreamliner.
India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released an interim report one month after the crash.
It revealed the plane’s fuel supply switches were cut off shortly after take-off, and then turned back on within seconds.
But exactly who or what is to blame for the crash is yet to be formally declared.
Ramesh wants to meet with Air India’s chief executive, Campbell Wilson, face to face, to plead for help.
Instead, Air India has offered a meeting with executives from the Tata Group, which owns the airline.
“Sanjiv and I have done our best to try and resolve this privately without having to ask for your help,” Seiger said.
“This isn’t going to happen or via email or via lawyers. The chief executive has to come and meet with us so that he can help us, help him.”
Air India has given Ramesh an interim payment of 21,500 pounds – just over $43,000 – the same handout offered to every family who lost a loved one on flight 171.
But Seiger said, for him and his family, that’s nowhere near enough.
“They don’t want to war with Air India, they just want help. And in this case, there’s an immediate, urgent need for intensive psychiatric treatment, as you can probably tell. They need to arrange that, and they need to pay for that,” Seiger said.
In a statement, Air India said it was conscious of its responsibility to provide Ramesh with support.
“We are keenly aware this continues to be an incredibly difficult time for all affected and continue to offer the support, compassion, and care we can in the circumstances.”
Along with dozens of other affected families, Ramesh has engaged lawyers to help navigate what is sure to be a long road ahead.
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