Diu, June 18: Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the devastating Air India plane crash, faced an agonising moment on Wednesday as he led the funeral procession of his brother, Ajay, in their hometown in Diu.
Still bearing visible injuries with patches of bandages on his face, Vishwas shouldered the remains of his brother, who had been seated beside him on the ill-fated Ahmedabad-London Gatwick flight on June 12.
The tragedy claimed the lives of 241 passengers and crew members on board and 29 people on the ground.
Vishwas, a 40-year-old British businessman from Leicester, had been discharged from Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital on Tuesday evening. He and Ajay, both natives of Diu, were returning to London after visiting family in the Union Territory.
Dr Rakesh Joshi, Medical Superintendent at the Civil Hospital, confirmed that Ajay’s remains were handed over to the family early Wednesday morning following a DNA test.
Vishwas, wrapped in white cloth and blue jeans, broke down multiple times. Mourners supported him as he struggled under the weight of his loss—both emotional and physical.
A video circulating on social media captured the heart-wrenching sight of Vishwas carrying his brother’s mortal remains to the cremation ground in Diu, part of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
“Vishwas and his family members reached Bucharwada village today,” Sarpanch Dipak Devjibai told PTI.
His family members, including his parents and two brothers, travelled to Gujarat after the crash, Devjibhai said.
“His entire family was present in the funeral procession which was taken out from Patelwadi to Koli Samaj crematorium,” he added.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39 PM last Thursday.
Vishwas’s miraculous survival has drawn international attention. A day after the crash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited him in the hospital to check on his recovery.
Earlier in an interview with Doordarshan, Vishwas had recounted the terrifying moments, stating the aircraft had “stalled within seconds” of taking off for its nine-hour journey to London’s Gatwick Airport.
Vishwas, whose seat was 11A, was close to the emergency door on the left side of the plane.
He described his escape: “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 the door was broken, I told myself I had a chance to escape. Eventually, I got out of the plane,” he recounted.
A viral video, shot by a local moments after the crash, shows a dazed and injured Vishwas walking toward an ambulance—an enduring image of human resilience in the face of unthinkable tragedy. (PTI)
