The Air India plane crash of 12 June continues a devastating year for aviation.
A lone survivor walked off alive from this latest incident. British man Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was seated next to the emergency exit on seat 11A, escaped with multiple injuries across his chest, eyes and feet.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” he said, speaking to reporters from his hospital bed.
He is desperately seeking help to find his brother who was seated on a different row in the aircraft.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran,” he told reporters.
The London bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is said to have been carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, according to an official statement by Air India CEO Campbell Wilson. Of those, were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
The aircraft had been operated by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal who had logged 8200 hours of flight experience, and his copilot was First Officer Clive Kundar who had accumulated 1,100 flying hours over his career.
As investigations continue, more information on some of the victims of the tragedy have been released on social media, with a video on two British tourists going viral. Jamie Meek and Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek had visited India on a holiday and can be seen reminiscing about their trip in one final video before the flight.
Casualties within the BJ Medical College, the site of the plane crash, include at least 5 medical students, one doctor and the wife of a super specialist doctor.
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The Air India plane crash has turned 2025 into the deadliest year of aviation accidents, with over 460 fatalities over the past 6 months. The most fatal crash prior to this incident was the collision between a passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, which claimed 67 lives.
Air India’s previous fatal accident occurred in August 2020, when the flight skidded off the runway in Kozhikode, killing 19 passengers and both pilots.
Message from Campbell Wilson, MD & CEO, Air India. pic.twitter.com/19MiwtkwAI
— Air India (@airindia) June 12, 2025
There is currently no consensus on the cause of the crash and aviation experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board and UK Air Accident Investigation Branch are scheduled to join Indian investigators to determine how the accident occurred. According to current speculations, possible explanations include that the plane suffered from a double engine failure, that the engine was lost to bird strikes or that the crash was a product of pilot error.
In response to the incident, Tata Group announced that it would provide Rs 1 crore (approx. A$200,000 ) to families of each victim. Chairman N Chandrasekan said in his statement that the group would also cover the medical expenses of those injured to ensure they received the support they needed.
As of now, it is too early to confirm the death toll, and there are still hopes for more survivors amongst the injured who were taken to hospital. Thoughts and prayers are with the families of loved ones who were lost in the tragedy.
READ MORE: Air India Ahmedabad-London crash at takeoff – Indian Link
