The wife of the sole survivor of the Air India crash said her husband is grieving the loss of his brother, who was seated across the aisle when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner went down on June 12.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, from Leicester, is still in India receiving treatment and has not spoken to the media, his wife told The Times. She said he is devastated by the death of his brother, Ajay, and is struggling with survivor guilt after the disaster that killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 29 people on the ground in Ahmedabad.
Ramesh, who was seated in 11A, suffered cuts to his face and chest injuries but emerged from the wreckage alive. According to media reports, he tried to book two adjacent seats for the flight AI171 but was forced to take two separate seats; he later told journalists he believes that if he and his brother had been seated together they might both have survived. Relatives and Indian media have described Ramesh as a "miracle" survivor; he was later seen at a funeral ceremony in Gujarat carrying his brother's coffin.
Footage obtained by news outlets showed Ramesh attempting to return to the burning aircraft to find family members. Emergency workers on site said he was disoriented and limping when they led him away to an ambulance. One rescuer recounted that Ramesh told them a family member was still inside the wreckage and that he wanted to try to save him.
Ramesh has told relatives and been reported to suffer nightmares and difficulty sleeping. He told some news organisations shortly after the crash that he had believed he would die and had seen people dying in front of him.
The aircraft struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff. Investigations into the cause of the crash continue, and Indian officials have overseen recovery and identification efforts. Families of victims have raised concerns about handling of remains; two British families who reported receiving "other remains" in caskets containing their relatives wrote an open letter to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling for answers from Indian authorities and accountability for what they described as mishandling and mislabelling.
The majority of families have been paid compensation by Air India of about £21,500, according to reports. Ramesh may be eligible to file further claims related to his physical injuries and psychological trauma arising from the incident.
Indian and British officials have been engaged in consular support and coordination for victims' families. Media reports said Ramesh met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the crash; his wife said he is not speaking to the media while receiving treatment in India and that she does not know when he will return to the U.K.
Relatives and authorities continue to process the consequences of the disaster for families and communities. Investigations and legal processes related to compensation, the handling of remains, and the technical causes of the crash remain ongoing.