Two of the 53 British nationals on board the doomed Air India flight to Gatwick were brothers Ajaykumar Ramesh, 35, and Viswash, 40 – sadly only one is believed to have made it out alive
The British brother of the man believed to be the only known survivor of the tragic Air India plane crash who was sat just a few rows back from his sibling has been pictured for the first time.
On Thursday brothers Ajaykumar Ramesh, 35, and Viswashkumar, 40, boarded the doomed flight after having been in India on a business trip. The Boeing jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat at around 1.40pm (0810 GMT), officials said.
While Viswashkumar – seated in 11A by the exit – survived, his sibling who was sat in seat 11J is feared dead. Devastatingly, injured Viswash has been begging from his hospital bed: “Find Ajay, you must find Ajay.”
Last night, relatives of the brothers gathered at the family’s home in Leicester to comfort the brothers’ mother who is said to be too grief-stricken to speak. Younger brother Nayankumar Ramesh, 27, told MailOnline “It’s a miracle at least one of them survived.”
Hours after the crash, Nayankumar said the family were desperate for news about what happened to Ajay, as his phone was still ringing out when they called it. He said: “We’re hoping he’s survived and been taken to hospital as well.”
Asked how the family are wrestling with the tragedy of one brother surviving and the loss of the other, he gestured to his sobbing mother, Manibai Ramesh, behind him. “That’s your answer”, the brother said. “We’re just baffled, baffled.”
Detailing their final days Nayankumar said his older siblings were in India on a business trip concerning their family business. Viswashkumar was formerly the sole director of textile company RMV Fashion, which closed down in 2022.
Astonishing footage showed Viswashkumar with visible injuries hobbling away from the scene of the crash. He reportedly sustained injuries to his chest, eyes and feet.
Police said Viswashkumar had ‘managed to escape by jumping out the emergency door’. Brother Nayan said his brother was in disbelief at how he got out alive, saying on the phone: “I have no idea how I survived or exited the plane. When he was on the runway, my dad called him. And Viswash said, “oh, we’re going to take off soon,” he said.
‘And then literally like two minutes later, he video called my dad as he crashed. He said, “our 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. All he was worried about on the phone was telling us “find Ajay, you must find Ajay”,” Nayankumar added.
Speaking to local media from his hospital bed, Viswashkumar said his brother had been sitting on a nearby row, adding: “I can’t find him anymore. Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,’ he added.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
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