Connect with us

Foreign

Lone Air India Survivor Carries Brother’s Coffin

Published

7 months ago

on

Lone Air India Survivor Carries Brother's Coffin

Air India crash survivor attends funeral of brother who died in crash
The British man who was the sole survivor of last week’s Air India plane crash has helped lay his brother to rest at a funeral in western India.

Vishwashkumar Ramesh’s brother Ajay was also on the ill-fated flight but did not survive the tragedy.

A visibly upset Ramesh was one of the pall bearers who carried his brother’s coffin to the crematorium in the town of Diu, his arm and face still covered in white bandages. He’s spent most of the past five days in hospital.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed seconds after taking off on Thursday from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. At least 270 people were killed, most of them passengers.

Mr Ramesh’s mother walked with the coffin in a blue sari along with other mourners, as he held it on his right shoulder.

Several people from the town – which lost 14 other people to the crash – came out for the funeral even as the rain lashed the procession.

No one is clear how Mr Ramesh managed to survive. He even tried to go back to the blazing plane to search for his brother, one of the first responders at the scene told the BBC.

In a new video that emerged earlier this week, ambulance driver Satinder Singh Sandhu is the man seen guiding Mr Ramesh to safety as he walks out of the crash site with flames and thick smoke billowing into the air behind him.

Mr Sandhu, a supervisor with the emergency ambulance services in Ahmedabad, says he had no idea who he was helping, or that Mr Ramesh had escaped from the plane. He only found out later that day on the news that the man was the sole survivor of the crash.

Vishwashkumar Ramesh, 40, was in seat 11A on the flight. His brother is reported to have been sitting a few seats away.

All other passengers and crew were killed and nearly 30 people also died on the ground after the plane hurtled down and crashed into a doctor’s hostel.

But Mr Ramesh miraculously survived, managing to get out of the wreckage through an opening in the fuselage.

The new video shows Mr Sandhu, who’s wearing a blue turban, walk up to Mr Ramesh and guide him to safety.

Mr Sandhu said he was having lunch with his colleagues when he first noticed a “massive fire with thick smoke rising into the sky”.

“At first, we thought it might be a car accident or a gas cylinder blast. Soon, we learned it was a plane crash. I immediately instructed my team to bring an ambulance, and rushed to the site.”

Speaking to BBC Gujarati, Mr Sandhu said that he was just trying to do his job. In his decades-long career, he said he had encountered many challenging situations.

But what surprised him that day was how Mr Ramesh, after being rescued, kept trying to go back to the site of the crash.

“He had no idea what he was doing. He kept going in and out of the complex. We told him to stop, and dragged him away to an ambulance so that he could receive medical care,” Mr Sandhu said.

“That’s when he said to me that his relative was trapped inside and he wanted to go save him. We did not speak a word after that.”

Mr Ramesh later told India’s DD News that he was trying to go look for Ajay.

Pavan Jaishwal Mr Sandhu, seen in yellow turban, guided the sole survivor of the crash to safety. Pavan Jaishwal
Satinder Singh Sandhu said he only realised who Mr Ramesh was when he saw the news later
At the scene, Mr Sandhu spotted a security guard who seemed to have been injured in the impact. His clothes were partially burnt and Mr Sandhu first helped him.

“I also saw a woman. She was screaming in horror. Her son who ran a tea stall had been killed in the crash.”

Moments later he saw Mr Ramesh emerge from the crash site in a white shirt.

He had injuries on his face and burns on his arms and looked visibly upset, Mr Sandhu said.

“At that point, we had no idea who the injured man was. I thought he was one of the doctors who lived in the college. Later, when we saw the news, we realised he was the lone survivor of the crash.”

Chirag, a member of Mr Sandhu’s ambulance team, told PTI news agency that Mr Ramesh was telling someone on a video call that his relatives were at the crash site.

The first responders treated him for his injuries and rushed him to the trauma centre of a hospital nearby.

In his interview with DD News, Mr Ramesh had said he could not believe that he came out of the wreckage alive.

“For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too, but when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive.

“I still can’t believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble.”

The cause of the crash is not yet known. Officials are trying to decode the cockpit voice and flight data recorders – collectively known as the black box – recovered from the wreckage to piece together what happened.

Bbc.com

Related Topics:
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Foreign

Breaking: US Announces Next Step After Invading Venezuela

Published

1 week ago

on

January 3, 2026

By

The United States has said it will be charging Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the president and first lady of Venezuela, for terrorism and drug offences

Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed the development, adding that Maduro and Flores were indicted in the Southern District of New York

President Donald Trump earlier claimed that the US forces captured them in a “large-scale strike” following the US attack on the sovereign country

The United States has announced that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would be charged with drug and terrorism offences after President Donald Trump’s claim that the US forces captured them in a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela.

Speaking on the invasion, Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed the development, adding that Maduro and Flores were indicted in the Southern District of New York. She added that the Venezuelan was charged with illicit drug importation conspiracy, narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, against the United States.

According to Bonde, the mission was “incredible and highly successful”. She expressed appreciation to the US military for carrying out the mission.

Bondi described the mission as “incredible and highly successful” and expressed gratitude to the US military for carrying it out. “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” she added.

Many Americans have taken to the comment section of her post and expressed their views on the development. Below are some of their comments:

Natalie F Danelishen expressed worries:

“You guys seriously captured and arrested a president in another country before arresting anyone on the Epstein list.”

Shen Shiwei questioned the US’s right to invade another country:

“How could the U.S. legalize its ‘military aggression’ against another sovereign country of Venezuela and its president by labelling it as an “operation”? When did the U.S. domestic law rise above other countries’ domestic laws and international laws?”

“If this proceeds in U.S. courts, it sets a huge precedent, prosecuting a sitting (or recently removed) head of state blurs the line between justice and geopolitics. The real test will be due process and evidence, not the headlines.”

Amy Siskind wrote:

“I’m old enough to remember that we just pardoned and released the former president of Honduras for far worse.”

Sari Beth Rosenberg commented:

“So, what’s the difference between Maduro and the President of Honduras, whom Trump pardoned? You are all so obvious.” Beth questioned the move:

“Is this going to go like the rest of your indictments, where it ends up abandoned, dropped, or dismissed by the court?”

” See the full statement of the Attorney General on X here:

Continue Reading

Foreign

‘Supreme Banditry’: Sheikh Gumi Reacts To Trump’s Arrest Of Venezuelan President

Published

1 week ago

on

January 3, 2026

By

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has reacted strongly to the reported arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife by former United States President Donald Trump.

Gumi’s reaction came shortly after news of the arrest began to spread. He focused his response on what he described as the abuse of global power.

According to him, powerful nations now act beyond limits and target entire countries, not just individuals.

In a post shared on his Facebook page on Saturday, the cleric described the action in harsh terms.

He wrote, “Supreme banditry doesn’t attack villages, they attack nations and kidnap leaders,” a statement widely seen as a direct swipe at Trump and the United States.

Gumi’s comments quickly drew attention due to his long-standing criticism of Western military and political influence, especially in developing countries.

He has often argued that global powers destabilize weaker nations under the guise of security and justice.

The arrest of Maduro marks a major escalation in the long-running tension between the United States and Venezuela. The Venezuelan leader has been accused by Washington of involvement in international drug trafficking and other transnational crimes. These allegations have been repeatedly denied by Maduro and his allies.

Only months ago, the United States significantly increased the reward offered for information leading to Maduro’s capture.

The bounty was raised to $50 million, making it one of the highest ever placed on a sitting head of state. The move was condemned by several governments and political groups across the world.

Trump, who announced the arrest through his personal platform, presented the action as a major victory against global crime.

However, critics argue that the move undermines international law and national sovereignty.

Continue Reading

Foreign

JUST IN: Russia Reacts To US Military Action In Venezuela

Published

1 week ago

on

January 3, 2026

By

Russia has condemned the United States’ military action in Venezuela, saying there was no credible justification for the attack and accusing Washington of allowing “ideological hostility” to override diplomacy.

Venezuela remains Russia’s key ally in South America, although the Kremlin has so far stopped short of pledging direct assistance to Caracas in the event of a conflict with the United States.

“This morning, the United States committed an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This is deeply troubling and deserves condemnation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the reasons advanced to justify the operation were “untenable,” noting that ideological hostility had prevailed over pragmatic, businesslike engagement.

The statement made no reference to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom US President Donald Trump claimed was captured during Saturday’s military operation.

“We reaffirm our solidarity with the Venezuelan people,” the ministry said, adding that there were no reports of Russian citizens being harmed in the US strikes.

Continue Reading

Trending