LONE plane crash survivor Vishwash Ramesh got the best Father’s Day gift yesterday when his son, four, sent best wishes.
Vishwash, 40, is in a hospital a mile from where Air India flight 171 crashed killing 241 on board and at least 29 on the ground.
HT PhotoVishwash Ramesh is in a hospital a mile from where Air India flight 171 crashed[/caption]
ReutersVishwash crawled through a hole in the wreckage and walked to an ambulance[/caption]
Air India flight 171 crashed killing 241 on board and at least 29 on the ground.Dan Charity
But he is on the mend after his incredible escape and will be reunited with his wife and son in the coming days.
They are among family who have flown to India.
Cousin Hiren said: “He is getting better day by day.
“Relatives have been to see him and he was able to speak to his son by phone yesterday on Father’s Day.” Vishwash, of Leicester, was in seat 11A on Thursday’s flight to Gatwick.
He has said the Boeing 787 Dreamliner suffered a catastrophic power loss seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad.
He said: “The lights started flickering green and white.
“Everything happened in seconds. I realised we were going down. Everyone around me was either dead or dying. I thought I was about to die, then I opened my eyes and realised that I was alive.”
He crawled through a hole in the wreckage and walked to an ambulance.
Brother Ajay, who was in the same row but on the other side of the aisle, was killed.
Meanwhile, a mum who died in the crash had been reluctant to leave eight-year-old son Meer for the first time, a friend has said. Abdhiben Patel, 40, had flown to India two weeks earlier to care for her mother.
Atif Karim, a colleague at Zone Beauty Studio in Northampton, said: “She didn’t want to go. She told me, ‘I don’t like being away from him’.
“It was her first time leaving him, and she was very nervous, not excited. It was a sense of duty. Her mum was unwell but you could tell it was weighing on her.”
Mr Karim said tensions between India and Pakistan added to Mrs Patel’s worries, saying: “All the flights were getting cancelled. It didn’t feel like the right time.”
Mrs Patel, whose husband Pankaj worked nights, was devoted to her son.
Mr Karim said: “She was the most diligent, reliable worker I’ve ever had. But more than that, she was our friend.
“She was bubbly, kind, always smiling. She had a way of putting people at ease and took an interest in their lives.”
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