Air India Flight 171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, claiming at least 241 lives in one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had 242 people on board, including passengers and crew, when it lost power minutes after departure and slammed into a medical college campus in a densely populated area.

Scenes from the crash site were horrific. Aircraft debris littered rooftops, classrooms were engulfed in flames, and parts of the plane—including its tail—were embedded in the wreckage of the college building. Early estimates reported over 200 fatalities, with police confirming that civilians on the ground also perished due to the plane crashing in a residential and commercial zone.

Initial statements from authorities suggested no survivors. However, police later corrected that, confirming that one person had miraculously survived the crash: 40-year-old Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, a British national visiting India. He had been traveling with his older brother Ajay, who tragically did not survive. Vishwas is currently hospitalized and under medical observation.

Speaking from a hospital bed, Vishwas recounted the terrifying experience. “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” he said. He awoke surrounded by wreckage and bodies, managing to escape before being rescued and taken to the hospital. His survival has been called nothing short of miraculous.

Tragically, among the passengers were couples like Fiongal and his partner, who shared joyful farewells on social media before boarding. Their final video, once hopeful and cheerful, has now become a heartbreaking reminder of lives cut short.