Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the sole British survivor of a June Air India crash that killed 260 people, is unlikely to return to the United Kingdom because he is too frightened to fly, his family said.
Relatives said the 40-year-old Leicester businessman remains deeply traumatised and is receiving counselling and medical treatment in India. Ramesh, who escaped the wreckage with facial cuts and chest injuries after the Boeing 787 lost power seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad for London Gatwick, has told family members he does not expect to travel back to his home in London or the family house in Leicester.
The crash killed 260 people in total: 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground, according to investigators, and 52 of those on the aircraft were British nationals. Ramesh’s brother Ajay, 35, was among those who died. Ramesh’s wife and their four-year-old son flew to India to help him recuperate and have since returned to the United Kingdom.
Grieving relatives of British victims said they had been left without adequate answers after remains were mixed up or, in some cases, not returned. Two families wrote to the UK foreign secretary to complain about communication failures and what they described as being "abandoned" by both Indian authorities and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Some have launched High Court action against Air India seeking the release of maintenance records and pilots’ medical and training files.
India’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said in an interim report that seconds after takeoff the plane’s fuel-control switches were moved to the "cut-off" position, starving the engines. Cockpit voice recordings include one pilot asking the co-pilot why he had cut off the fuel supply, with the co-pilot replying that he had not. The aircraft struck a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad.
A US law firm representing bereaved families has suggested an electrical failure after a water leak may have precipitated the accident rather than pilot error. The firm cited a Federal Aviation Administration bulletin issued a month before the disaster that highlighted reports of water leaks on some 787s linked to improperly installed waterline couplings and water entering electronics equipment bays. Attorneys said Ramesh had reported lights flickering during the flight. Boeing declined to comment.
Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party, warned that Andy Burnham could face "humiliation" if he attempted to re-enter the House of Commons via a so-called leadership by-election, saying Reform UK would make contesting any Manchester seat an "epic battle."
Speculation has increased that a local Labour MP might step down to allow Manchester’s mayor to contest a safe seat and position himself for a possible Labour leadership challenge should internal pressure on Sir Keir Starmer grow amid ongoing controversies. Farage’s comments were made to The Mail on Sunday as Labour-linked speculation about Burnham’s parliamentary ambitions intensified.
Burnham, who is not a sitting MP but retains a strong personal approval rating in national polling, has launched a campaign group called Mainstream that calls for measures such as wealth taxes and partial renationalisation of utilities. He is publicly supporting Lucy Powell in the contest to become Labour’s deputy leader, a position some MPs say could be a platform for a leadership campaign. Labour figures and local sources said one Manchester MP who is in ill health might be prepared to stand down to create a vacancy.
Reform UK has been polling strongly in several urban constituencies in recent months, and some local Labour officials expressed scepticism that Burnham would risk leaving the mayoralty — a prominent and influential post — to contest a seat that could be vulnerable to a Reform challenge. Conservative and Labour sources have also voiced concern that a high-profile contest could play into the hands of rival parties.
Downing Street and some Labour moderates have privately expressed unease about the potential political consequences if Powell were to win the deputy contest, warning that it could strengthen Reform’s appeal in target seats. Burnham has said he intends to complete his term as Manchester mayor, which runs until 2028, though his recent criticisms of the national leadership and the launch of Mainstream have added to speculation about longer-term ambitions.
Both developments — the personal fallout from the Ahmedabad disaster and the manoeuvring in British politics — have prompted legal and political actions. Families of crash victims press for greater transparency and access to records as investigations continue, while inside Labour, debate over leadership, deputy leadership and the party’s electoral strategy is intensifying ahead of conferences and potential by-elections.
Investigations into the crash remain under way, and any formal conclusions about mechanical failures or human factors will depend on the final AAIB report and any corroborating legal or independent inquiries. Party officials and political commentators said the implications of any Burnham bid would unfold over months and hinge on local Labour decisions and national polling trends.