Alone and Injured AI 171 Crash Survivor Struggles Abroad

In June, Air India flight AI-171, en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, ended in tragedy with 241 fatalities of the 242 onboard. The single survivor, 39-year-old Vishwashkumar Ramesh, found himself walking away from a burning wreckage and now grappling with significant injuries, trauma and financial strain in the UK. 

Ramesh, who occupied seat 11A next to an emergency exit, lost his younger brother Ajaykumar (who sat in 11J) in the crash. Although he survived physically, the emotional scars have deeply affected him. He cannot drive, struggles with walking and largely remains confined to home in Leicester, awaiting psychiatric care that hasn’t yet materialised under the NHS. 

The family’s business a fishing venture in Diu that Vishwash helped run collapsed following the disaster, cutting off their primary livelihood. Their ensuing financial distress was made worse by the fact that his wife’s UK benefits (universal credit) were halted when she travelled to India for two months after the incident. 

Air India has offered an interim compensation of 21,500 euro (approx. Rs 25 lakh) to Ramesh, which he deems wholly inadequate given the higher cost of living in the UK and his ongoing rehabilitation needs. Community advocates assisting Ramesh say Air India and UK authorities have yet to provide a personalised, timely response. The airline stated it remains “deeply conscious” of its responsibilities, and has offered to meet with his representatives

Amid all this, Ramesh is navigating a lonely path: managing pain, seeking mobility solutions, battling isolation and addressing mental-health challenges. He lives in limbo physically a survivor, emotionally fragile, and financially insecure stranded in a foreign land with his world turned upside down.

His story raises tough questions: about airline responsibility, the adequacy of survivor support systems across borders, and the aftermath for those who endure the unimaginable. Beyond statistics and compensation brackets, there is a human life in crisis, seeking recovery and waiting for others to recognise not just his survival, but his dignity and future.