What began as a routine flight on a warm June afternoon quickly turned into a horrifying tragedy, leaving a trail of wreckage, heartbreak, and unanswered questions in its wake. On June 12, 2025, Air India flight AI171 took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, bound for London Gatwick. Within minutes, it was engulfed in flames.

Among the 242 passengers and crew on board, just one man walked away.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British citizen living in London, had boarded the flight with his older brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, 45. The two had been visiting India on a brief business trip, even making a stop in Diu before preparing to return to their families in the UK.

They never made it past takeoff.

According to survivors’ accounts and footage circulating online, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was airborne for barely thirty seconds before disaster struck. A loud noise was heard, and then the aircraft dropped from the sky. Video clips, later shared by Times Now, captured the final moments — the plane flying low before vanishing behind a barrier and erupting in a black cloud of fire and smoke.

In the chaos that followed, a single figure was seen emerging from the crash site — injured but moving. It was Vishwash.

A video released by India Today NE shows him limping away from the burning wreckage, speaking with people around him as rescuers rushed to assist. Blood streamed down his face and soaked through his shirt. He was barefoot, dazed, but conscious. And his first words were not about himself.

“We visited Diu. He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,”

he pleaded from his hospital bed in Asarwa.
The two brothers were seated in different rows. Vishwash, in 11A near an emergency exit, survived the impact. Ajay, seated further back, has not been found. His phone still rings. No one answers.

The full scale of the tragedy became clear as reports confirmed the grim toll: 230 passengers, 12 crew, and only one survivor. Among those lost were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven from Portugal, and one Canadian. It’s a miracle anyone survived at all.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson addressed the nation later that day, visibly shaken as he confirmed details of the crash and pledged full support for affected families.

“We are working with emergency responders and government authorities to assist those injured and locate all passengers,”

Wilson said.

“A special team is en route to Ahmedabad to support ongoing recovery efforts.”

As the crash site remained cordoned off, and as emergency crews worked tirelessly through twisted debris, the heartbreak stretched beyond borders.

In Leicester, the Ramesh family is split between grief and disbelief. Ajay and Vishwash were more than brothers — they were lifelong business partners, trusted companions, and fathers. Vishwash’s wife and child wait in London, praying for his recovery. Meanwhile, their younger brother, Nayankumar, is preparing to fly to India in search of answers — and perhaps closure.

“We’re not doing well,”

their cousin Ajay Valgi said.

“They were sitting so close. But we still don’t know what happened to Ajay.”

Back in the UK, King Charles III and Queen Camilla offered public condolences, extending sympathy to families across several nations and praising the bravery of emergency crews.

But for Vishwash, now lying in a hospital bed with injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet, there is only one question on repeat:

“Find Ajay. You must find Ajay.”

As rescue operations continue and investigations unfold, families cling to the hope of more survivors. But for many, including the Rameshes, this tragedy has already carved an irreversible loss — one captured not just by flames, but in the haunting cry of a brother who survived when his other half did not.

Our thoughts remain with them.