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A single passenger survived Air India crash that killed 240 people

Published: 13 Jun. 2025, 15:01

A person walks past debris at the crash site after an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed during takeoff from an airport in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Thursday’s Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Although the cause remains unclear, some analysts doubt it will affect global demand for Boeing planes, which have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft.

“It’s a terrible tragedy, but given what little we know now ... I don’t think it’s likely to have a very big impact on Boeing,” said Richard Aboulafia, a longtime aerospace analyst and managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory.

He said there are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide, and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy promised that the government would act quickly if it learns about any safety issues with the Boeing 787, but it’s still too early in the investigation.

A U.S. team is departing for India to help with the probe because India asked for assistance. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric are all sending experts.

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick for transportation secretary quickly emerged as a public face of the government’s response to the Washington plane crash that killed 67.

Officials have been trying to reassure travelers that flying remains the safest mode of transportation, and statistics support that. But the steady stream of headlines about things going wrong on planes and helicopters is unnerving.

Kalpesh Bhai, whose 14-year-old brother was killed when an Air India plane crashed into a neighborhood, wails outside the autopsy room of a hospital in Ahmedabad, India, on June 13. [AP/YONHAP]

There have been at least seven fatal plane crashes in the United States since January, when a midair collision killed 67 people near Washington. It was the first major fatal crash on U.S. soil since 2009.

And one of the worst aviation disasters in Korean history happened in December when a plane skidded off a runway into a concrete fence and killed 179 people.

The country’s flag carrier had been plagued by tragedy and financial losses under government control from 1953 through 2022 .

In 2010, an Air India flight overshot the runway and plunged over a cliff, killing 158 people. And in 2020, a flight for Air India Express skidded off a runway amid heavy rain and cracked in two, killing 18 people.

Search and recovery teams work through the rubble of an Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner passenger plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing more than 200 people. [UPI/YONHAP]

Jitendra Bhargava, former executive director of the airline and author of “The Descent of Air India” (2013), said government ownership fostered an archaic work culture, outdated processes, and management by bureaucrats unfamiliar with the aviation industry.

By the time Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over in a 180 billion rupee (then $2.4 billion) deal, Air India’s market share was around 12 percent and at risk of shrinking as competitors expanded.

The carrier has since worked to reinvent itself by modernizing both its operations and fleet.

The company confirmed the 241-person death toll in a statement on Twitter. It also said the sole survivor is a British national of Indian origin.

About 100 people gathered at the massive ornate temple in the Neasden area of London where much of the community has ties to the state where the Air India flight crashed.

Yogvivekdas Swami prayed for all those affected, including the people killed and injured on the ground and the teams that worked to rescue them.

“We will offer prayers for the unfortunate people who have passed away, the passengers, the crew, the pilots,” Yogvivekdas said. “Also for all their family members, that they may find strength and courage at this very difficult and challenging time.”

Vishwashkumar Ramesh, who had his boarding pass with him in the hospital, told local newspaper Hindustan Times that he saw bodies and parts of the plane strewn around the crash site.

A man holds up a mobile phone showing a photograph of his relatives outside a hospital mortuary in Ahmedabad, India, on June 13, a day after Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area. At least 265 people on board and on the ground were killed when the London-bound Air India 787-8 Dreamliner smashed into residential area soon after takeoff on June 12 — but one passenger miraculously survived the giant fireball. [AFP/YONHAP]

“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran,” he told the newspaper.

Ramesh was traveling to London with his brother.

At the time the plane had been due to arrive Thursday, it was not listed on the arrivals board in the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport and it appeared no one was waiting for it.

Media were kept out of the terminal and extra staff were deployed.

A center for family members who were seeking more information was also set up, but it wasn’t clear where it was or if anyone had shown up there.

Vishwashkumar Ramesh called his father moments after the crash to say he had survived, his brother Nayan told Sky News.

“He video called my dad as he crashed and said ‘Oh the plane’s crashed. I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t see any other passengers. I don’t know how I’m alive, how I exited the plane,’” he told Sky.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply saddened” and “wishes a swift and full recovery to those who were injured.”

“He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of India, as well as to all countries whose citizens were affected by this tragedy,” UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer encouraged loved ones of passengers on the Air India flight to contact the foreign office.

Search and rescue personnel look over the tail section of an Air India passenger plane which crashed in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner passenger plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing more than 200 people. [UPI/YONHAP]

“Our hearts and our thoughts are absolutely with the friends and families of all those affected who are going to be absolutely devastated by this awful news,” Starmer said.

Kelly Ortberg said she spoke to the head of Air India and expressed Boeing’s full support, as well as condolences to the passengers, crew and everyone affected on the ground.

A team from Boeing was prepared to support Indian authorities’ investigation into the crash, Ortberg said in a statement.

This was the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed, and the cause was not immediately clear. But it’s the latest in a string of troubles — most of them tied to a different plane, the 737 Max — that have has dimmed the prospects of a pre-eminent U.S. manufacturer.

Police keep watch as people gather at the entrance leading to the post mortem room at a hospital in Ahmedabad, India, on June 13, a day after Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area. At least 265 people on board and on the ground were killed when the London-bound Air India 787-8 Dreamliner smashed into residential area soon after takeoff on June 12 — but one passenger miraculously survived the giant fireball. [AFP/YONHAP]

Boeing shares fell more than 4 percent in afternoon trading.

Another medic said Vishwashkumar Ramesh told him that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split into two, throwing him out followed by a loud explosion.

According to the medic, Ramesh said he found himself next to debris and walked to a nearby ambulance that brought him to the hospital.

A doctor at a nearby hospital said he examined the survivor, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, who reportedly walked away after the crash.

“He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,” Dr. Dhaval Gameti told The Associated Press. “But he seems to be out of danger.”

Ramesh called his relatives in Leicester, England, according to the BBC. He has a wife and “little boy” at home, said his cousin Ajay Valgi.

The survivor’s brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh told the BBC: “He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane.’”

AP