It’s now been three months since the tragic Air India plane crash that shocked the world, and this is where the sole survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is now.
Air India flight 717 took off as normal from Ahmedabad in India on Thursday morning and was due to land at London Gatwick that evening, but crashed seconds after take-off. The plane was carrying 242 people and all of them died apart from one, a 40-year-old British dad from Leicester who miraculously walked away from seat 11A with little injuries.
At the time, everyone called his survival a “miracle” and said he should be happy to be alive, but the reality is far from that. Vishwash is still really struggling mentally, doesn’t sleep and won’t even return home to the UK because he’s terrified to get on a plane again.
On 12th September, Ramesh’s wife told The Times he is still recovering and receiving treatment in India, and grieving his brother who sadly died in the plane crash. His wife returned to the UK with their young son in August so he could start the new school year in September, but the rest of the family stayed in India.
Credit: Xinhua/Shutterstock
“[My son] understands but still misses his dad,” she emotionally said. “I’m not sure when he’s coming back to the UK as his treatment is going on. Everything happened in front of him and the main thing is he lost his brother. He’s not talking to anyone in the media, even in India.”
“Many people, including our relatives living abroad, call us to inquire about Vishwas’s well-being. But he does not talk to anyone. He is yet to overcome the mental trauma of the crash and the death of his brother,” his cousin Sunny also told NDTV.
“He still wakes up in the middle of the night and finds it difficult to fall asleep again. We took him to a psychiatrist two days ago to find remedy. He has not made any plans yet to return to London because his treatment has just begun.”
Another family member, Krunal Keshave, opened up about Vishwash’s sleeping issues to Metro. When he does eventually get to sleep, the survivor dreams he is back on the flight and “remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes”.
He is so traumatised that he might never go home to his wife and son in Leicester. His brother told the Daily Mail: “I think he will stay over there because he would be too frightened to get on a plane again.”
For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.
Featured image by: Credit: Xinhua/Shutterstock
