Ahmedabad plane crash survivor discharged from hospital, attends brother's cremation in Diu

Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash, during the cremation of his deceased brother Ajay, who was flying with him on the same aircraft, in Diu, on June 18, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI

Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash, has been discharged from the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital following his recovery, and he later attended the cremation of his deceased brother, who was flying with him on the same aircraft, officials said on Wednesday (June 18, 2025).

Mr. Ramesh, a 40-year-old British businessman from Leicester, was discharged on Tuesday evening, they said.

The mortal remains of his brother Ajay were handed over to the family in the early hours of Wednesday after a DNA test confirmed his identity, Ahmedabad Civil Hospital's medical superintendent, Dr. Rakesh Joshi told reporters.

"Vishwas' family has already arrived here from the United Kingdom. Following his recovery, we gave discharge to Vishwas at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday and his brother's mortal remains were also handed over to the family after a DNA match," he said.

Vishwas and Ajay, who were natives of Diu, were heading back to London after spending some time with their family members in the Union Territory.

Vishwas carries brother’s mortal remains

In a video that surfaced on social media, Mr. Ramesh can be seen carrying his brother's mortal remains on his shoulders to the cremation ground in Diu, a district of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Local officials confirmed that Ajay was cremated at Diu by his family on Wednesday morning and Mr. Ramesh was also present there.

A day after the crash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Mr. Ramesh at the civil hospital and enquired about his health.

Fateful flight, miraculous escape

In an interview to Doordarshan earlier, Mr. Ramesh said the aircraft had stalled within seconds of taking off from Ahmedabad on its nine-hour journey to London's Gatwick Airport.

According to Mr. Ramesh, his seat, 11A, was close to the emergency door on the left side of the plane.

"Luckily, the portion of the plane where I was seated fell on the ground floor of the hostel premises after the plane crash landed. When I saw that the door of the plane was broken, I told myself that I can try and get out. Eventually, I came out of the plane," he had told reporters.

In a viral video shot by a local immediately after the crash, Mr. Ramesh can be seen walking towards the ambulance after getting hurt in the crash.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 persons on board crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.39 pm on June 12.

Published - June 18, 2025 03:14 pm IST