Lone AI-171 crash survivor speaks out

LEICESTER: Four-and-a-half months after the June 12 crash of Air India flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, the only survivor, 39-year-old Vishwashkumar Ramesh, remains physically injured, financially strained and deeply traumatised.Vishwash, who was in seat 11A next to the emergency exit, walked away from the burning wreckage that killed 241 of the 242 people on board (230 passengers and 12 crew). His younger brother Ajaykumar, seated in 11J, was among the dead. After brief treatment in India, Ramesh returned to the UK on September 15 but says he has not yet received NHS psychiatric care. He struggles to walk, cannot drive, and largely isolates himself at home in Leicester. “Mentally, I have completely broken down,” he says.The family’s fishing business in Diu, which Vishwash ran with his brother, has virtually collapsed, cutting off income. His wife’s universal credit was halted after she travelled to India for two months post-crash.

Air India has offered an interim payment of £21,500 (Rs 25 lakh), to be adjusted against any final compensation, an amount Ramesh calls inadequate given UK living costs and his ongoing medical needs.Community leader Sanjiv Patel and crisis adviser Radd Seiger, who are assisting the family, say both Air India and the UK authorities have not provided timely, tailored support. Seiger says repeated requests for a meeting with Air India’s top leadership have gone unanswered.Air India said it is “deeply conscious” of its responsibility to Ramesh and all affected families, adding that senior Tata Group leaders have met families and an offer to arrange a meeting with Ramesh’s representatives remains open, with outreach continuing.For now, Ramesh’s focus is on pain management, mobility, and securing mental-health support as he grieves his brother and contemplates an uncertain future.