The 11A enigma: Two plane crashes, two survivors and one seat story - similar tales of cheating death

NEW DELHI: A Thai singer has revealed he survived a deadly 1998 plane crash that killed 101 people—while seated in 11A, the very same seat number occupied by the sole survivor of the Air India tragedy."The lone survivor of the plane crash in India was sitting in the same seat number as me, 11A," 47-year-old Ruangsak Loychusak said."I want to offer my condolences to all those who lost loved ones in the tragedy," he added.Loychusak was aboard Thai Airways Flight TG261 from Bangkok to Surat Thani when the aircraft stalled and crashed into a swamp during its landing attempt. The disaster claimed 101 lives out of 132 passengers and 14 crew members, with 45 others sustaining injuries, the Daily Mail reported.Describing his "second life", he recalled the trauma he had to deal with after surviving the near-death experience. "I had difficulty flying for 10 years after the crash. I would struggled breathing, even though the air circulation was normal," he said."I avoided speaking to anyone and always stared outside the window, blocking anyone from closing it to maintain my sense of safety. If I saw dark clouds or a rainstorm outside, I would feel terrible, like I was in hell," he added.

Viswashkumar is the lone survivor out of the 242 aboard AI 171 and he was seated in 11A. He lost his brother in the crash, who was seated in 11J. Viswashkumar, a British citizen of Indian origin, and his brother Ajaykumar—originally from Diu—were among 15 passengers from Bucharwada and Vanakbara villages on the ill-fated flight. The brothers, who had lived in the UK for over 15 years, operated a garment business in London and managed a fishing venture in Diu.