Air India crash sole survivor says he lives with pain and trauma

THE ONLY only survivor of June’s Air India crash has spoken to UK media about the mental and physical pain he continues to suffer months after the disaster in Ahmedabad.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh told in interviews aired and published on Monday that the period since the crash, which killed 241 passengers on the London-bound flight and 19 people on the ground, has been “very difficult.”

The British citizen, who lives in Leicester, central England, walked away from the wreckage in what he has called “a miracle”, but lost his brother in the crash.

“God gave me life but took all my happiness, and from my family,” the 39-year-old told the Press Association. “It completely brought down my family... it’s very difficult for me and my family.”

He said his brother, Ajay, “was my strength” and “my everything.”

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad in western India on June 12, hitting a medical college.

A preliminary investigation report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said fuel to the jet’s engines was cut off moments before impact. The report did not provide any other conclusions or assign blame.

Last month, the father of one of the pilots petitioned India’s top court for an independent inquiry, arguing that the official investigation was unfairly blaming the crew.

In interviews with several British broadcasters, Ramesh said he finds it “very painful” to speak about the crash.

“I get flashbacks all the time. I just stay awake, I sleep maybe three to four hours,” he told PA.

He told the BBC that he suffers pain in his leg, shoulder, knee and back, and has not been able to work or drive since the crash.

“When I walk, not walk properly, slowly, slowly, my wife help,” he said.

His advisers told the BBC that he was diagnosed with PTSD while being treated in hospital in India but has not received medical treatment since returning to the UK.