The crash of Air India in Ahmedabad, India on June 12th added a tragic chapter to aviation history. The flight on its way to England was departing from Sardar Valabhai Patel International Airport when it crashed during takeoff.
Air India confirmed that the flight was involved in “today's accident after takeoff,” adding that 242 passengers and crew were on board.
Local media shows There must be one survivor, name of a 40-year-old British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
This rare outbreak, in which one person is separated from a major aviation disaster, has happened before, but remains statistically abnormal.
AP/Ajit Solanki
Ahmedabad Air India Airplane crash fall: What we know
Flight AI171 headed to London Gatwick Airport. However, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner collided with the medical college dormitory at BJ Medical College Civic Hospital, on the outskirts of India's Ahmedabad city, and erupted in flames.
Ahmedabad Police Chief GS Malik told the Associated Press that “some locals would have also died” since the plane struck a residential area.
At least five medical students have been killed and 50 injured, according to the All India Medical Association coalition.
According to Air India, there were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the clash was “more than words and heartbreaking.”
The cause of the crash remains unknown
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but Air India called it an accident.
Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarap said he was “shocked and devastated” by the crash.
“We are the most vigilant. I personally monitor the situation and direct all aviation and emergency response agencies to take prompt and coordinated action,” the minister wrote on his previous Twitter X.
“Rescue squads are mobilised and every effort is made to ensure medical assistance and relief assistance is rushed to the site. My thoughts and prayers are with all people and their families,” he said.
According to the New York Times, Air India's last major crash was in 2020, when a passenger plane from its subsidiary Air India Express slipped on the runway, causing 17 deaths in India.
Who was the only survivor?
The Hindustan Times and Sky News have identified the crash survivor as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British citizen.
The man who was in seat 11A of the aircraft is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. The video appears to show him walking away from the scene of the incident.
List of plane crashes with one survivor
According to the US National Traffic Safety Commission, the overall survival rate for aircraft accidents between 1983 and 2000 was 95%. However, the only survival rate in catastrophic conflicts remains abnormal.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh joins a small group of individuals who survived the air disaster alone.
Julian Koepke, 17, survived the 1971 crash of the Lansa Flight 508. She walked for 11 days in search of help. Vesna Vulović, a flight attendant, experienced an air explosion in 1972 at the JAT Flight 367. She passed away in December 2016. Cecelia Chichan, 4, was the only survivor of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, which crashed in Michigan in August 1987. She was buried in the wreckage and required extensive treatment for burns and fractures. Her parents, siblings and 151 other people on board were killed, and two people died on the ground according to the FAA.Bahia Bakari, a 12-year-old girl, floated for several hours in the Indian Ocean after a Yemenia flight 626 crashed on the South African coast of Comoros in June 2009. She didn't have a life jacket and limited swimming ability. Reuben van Asow, a nine-year-old Dutch boy, killed 103 people, including his parents, in the crash of Afriyah Airlines in May 2010.
GDA/Martin Acevedo
These crashes ranged from pilot errors and mechanical failures to weather-related incidents and obstructions, but all were only one person alive among the many deaths.
The crash in Ahmedabad takes part in these rare and tragic cases as they work to determine how one life escaped amid an overwhelming tragedy.
Updated 6/12/25, 1:36 PM ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
