The sole survivor of the Air India crash that occurred in June in Ahmedabad has shared his poignant story with BBC News, revealing a complex mix of gratitude and heartache. Though he considers himself the “luckiest man” for surviving such a disaster, he grapples with the bittersweet reality of losing his brother and the ongoing struggle with both physical injuries and emotional scars.

At 39, Viswashkumar Ramesh emerged as the only survivor from the debris of the London-bound Boeing 787, which tragically crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad.

In his conversation with BBC News, Ramesh expressed that while surviving the crash felt like a “miracle,” the devastating loss of his younger brother and the ensuing trauma have made it difficult for him to resume his previous way of life.

“I lost my brother, who was my backbone,” he lamented. “For the past few years, he has been my constant support.”

A photograph provided by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs captures a meeting between the Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah and British plane crash survivor Viswashkumar Ramesh, 40, in an Ahmedabad hospital. (Courtesy of Ministry of Home Affairs India via AP)

Since returning to his home in Leicester, Ramesh has battled severe post-traumatic stress, his advisors told the outlet, and has struggled to speak with his wife and 4-year-old son.

“Now I’m alone,” he said. “I just sit in my room alone, not talking with my wife, my son. I just like to be alone in my house.”

Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time. There were 242 passengers and crew members onboard the flight.

Firefighters work to put out a fire at the site of the crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. (Reuters/Amit Dave/TPX Images of the Day)

Video from the scene showed smoke rising from the wreckage as Ramesh stumbled away with minor visible injuries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later visited him in the hospital, where Ramesh recalled unbuckling his seatbelt and crawling out of the fuselage through an opening near his seat, 11A.

Speaking beside local community leader Sanjiv Patel and family spokesman Radd Seiger, Ramesh said reliving the crash remains too painful.

“I’m thinking all night, I’m suffering mentally,” he told BBC News. “Every day is painful for the whole family.”

The tail of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building in Ahmedabad, India. (Reuters/Amit Dave/TPX Images of the Day)

Ramesh said he continues to endure physical pain from leg, shoulder, knee, and back injuries that prevent him from working or driving.

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

His advisors said he was diagnosed with PTSD while hospitalized in India but has not received further treatment since returning to the U.K.

Aircraft landing gear at the crash site of Air India Ltd. flight AI171 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on June 12, 2025. (Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

They described him as “lost and broken,” calling for senior Air India officials to meet with him and other families affected by the crash.

“They’re in crisis, mentally, physically, financially,” Patel said. “It’s devastated his family.”

Seiger said repeated requests for a meeting with the airline have been ignored or declined.

“The people who should be sitting here today are the executives of Air India,” he said. “Please come and sit down with us so that we can work through this together to try and alleviate some of this suffering.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Air India for comment on the matter.

Still, Air India, owned by Tata Group, said in a statement to BBC News that company leaders have continued to visit families of victims and that an offer to meet Ramesh’s representatives “remains open.”

The airline said care for Ramesh and others affected by the crash “remains our absolute priority.”