What started off as a typical flight back from a business trip became a nightmare. One man made it through the pandemonium and flames, and his first words were a frantic cry for his brother, whom he was no longer able to see.
After completing their business trip in India, 35-year-old Ajaykumar Ramesh and his 40-year-old brother Viswash were heading back to the UK. They got on Air Indiaโs flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick. Unaware of the disaster that would unfold, on Thursday. They sat down, Viswash across the aisle in 11A, next to the emergency exit, and Ajay in 11J.
Then there was a crash.
Viswash survived what investigators now refer to be aย catastrophic accidentย while sat in 11A close to the emergency exit. As the cabin was engulfed in flames, his brother Ajay, who was seated in seat 11J right across the aisle, did not. Bloodied and dazed, Viswash was hauled from the ruins.
Viswash, who is currently in a hospital in India, keeps saying the same eerie request:ย โFind Ajay, you must find Ajay.โ
Their family is torn between sadness and incredulity back in Leicester. Their mother, too upset to talk, is surrounded by family members who are consoling her. Nayankumar, their youngest brother, spoke of the bizarre time they got the call.
โItโs a miracle at least one of them survived,โย he stated.ย โHe said his plane had crashed and he couldnโt find anyone. We couldnโt believe it. There was blood running down his face.โ
Viswashโs injuries are seen in pictures obtained at the Indian hospital. Desperate for answers, the family is getting ready to board a plane, according to Nayankumar. Ajayโs phone continues to ring, but nobody answers, he added.
Late Thursday night, Air India announced the sobering fact that only one of the 242 passengers on aircraft AI171 survived. Viswash was the only one who survived. Among them was Ajaykumar.
The family held onto hope for hours. They thought that Ajayโs name might have been overlooked in the confusion as he was hurried to another hospital.
As Nayankumar had previously stated, they wereย โso confusedโย but hoped his brother had survived somehow. Nayankumar gestured to their mother, Manibai Ramesh, when asked how the family was handling the situation, which involved one brother living while another died. Her cries filled the quiet, but she was too overcome to talk.
โThatโs your answer,โย he said.ย โWeโre just baffled, baffled.โ Despite the heartbreak, he acknowledged the cruel duality of the moment: โItโs a miracle at least one of them survived.
Viswash and Ajaykumar had visited India on business related to their familyโs businesses. Previously, Viswash was the director of RMV Fashion, a textile company based in Leicester that shut down in 2022.
When Viswash called home, the first indications of life appeared. He informed family members that he had escaped the burning plane and was hurt but unharmed. Although the call was a relief, it also made Ajay even more terrified, and he never called.
Their cousin, Ajay Valgi, also from Leicester, shared his anguish. He described Ajaykumar not just as a cousin, but as one of his closest friends.ย โThey were sitting next to each other,โย he said.ย โBut we donโt know what happened to Ajay.โย The family is still reeling.ย โWeโre not doing well,โย he added.ย โWeโre all upset.โ
As we previously reported, Air India Flight AI-171 crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday afternoon, June 12, 2025, in Ahmedabad, leaving the nation in shock and grief. While travelling to London Gatwick, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew members, unexpectedly ran into problems.
Just before all communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC) was lost, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was in charge of the aircraft, sent out anย urgent Mayday call, the most serious emergency signal in aviation.
The pilotโs last transmission before the plane disappeared from radar was the globally recognised distress signal,ย โMayday, Mayday, Mayday,โย which must be repeated three times for clarity and priority treatment. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated that no additional reaction from the cockpit occurred despite numerous attempts by ATC to reconnect.
The plane struck the Meghani Nagar neighbourhood, a five-million-person residential area outside the airportโs boundaries, at around 1:39 p.m. IST. Five minutes after departure, the event happened.
Flames erupted at the scene of the jet crash, and soon after, dense, black smoke enveloped the entire skyline. As soon as they arrived on the scene, emergency reaction teams began a rescue effort amidst the debris.
Even the wordย โMaydayโย has a moving history. Frederick Stanley Mockford, a radio officer at Londonโs Croydon Airport, came up with the term in the early 1920s. It comes from the French wordย โmโaider,โย which translates toย โhelp me.โ
By 1927, the International Radiotelegraph Convention had accepted the phrase as the official spoken distress call for ships and aeroplanes worldwide, in addition to the Morse codeย โSOSโย signal.
Mayday calls are used by aviation specialists to alert pilots of the most catastrophic events that may occur while in flight, such as engine failures, structural issues, fires, extreme weather, or significant medical situations. Less serious distress calls, such asย โPan-pan,โย which deal with technological issues that donโt immediately threaten life, are not the same as Mayday.
Key information such as the aircraftโs name, location, emergency type, number of passengers, fuel remaining, and assistance needed are usually included when a pilot initiates a Mayday call.
Emergency responders and air traffic controllers can act quickly and efficiently thanks to this organised style. All non-urgent radio conversations are stopped upon receiving a Mayday call, giving the troubled aircraft top priority.
To offer complete support, ATC then works with emergency services, other planes, and other airports. In order to improve the efficacy of rescue operations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also recommends pilots to provide precise information such as weather conditions, altitude, and flying intentions.
The crewโs prompt and precise Mayday call was an essential part of adhering to emergency procedures in the recent Ahmedabad tragedy.
Despite the unfortunate outcomeโno survivors are knownโthe message provided investigators and emergency agencies with important information, demonstrating the aircraft crewโs professionalism even in the most dangerous situations.
The wreckage of Air India Flight AI-171, which had been fully fuelled just prior to takeoff and itsย devastating crash, was engulfed in flames that firefighters battled valiantly to put out. Additionally, nearby multistory buildings were doused with water; one of them had the planeโs tail cone still stuck close to its roof, its stabiliser fins clearly destroyed.
Horrible scenes characterised the immediate aftermath: burned carcasses were strewn all over the ground, and one was gravely removed by rescue personnel.
In a public speech, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the incident and conveyed his sadness, describing the accident sights asย โdevastating.โ
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his sympathies to everyone impacted by the incident, calling itย โheartbreaking beyond words.โ
Indian television news outlets said that the plane had hit a medical college dormโs dining hall. At least five medical college students were murdered on the ground, according to Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association. Fifty more were hurt, some critically, and more wereย โfeared buried in the debris.โ
The Indian Army sent personnel to help clear debris and treat the injured as part of the relief and medical assistance efforts that were in progress in the wake of the disaster.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Air India, underlined the airlineโs dedication to helping all impacted people and their families. To guarantee that the bereaved received timely information and care, he pointed out that emergency centres and support teams had already been activated.
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