Video: Lone Air India survivor carries coffin of brother killed in crash

• A British man who survived a devastating Air India plane crash has laid his brother to rest in their hometown of Diu, India
• The emotional farewell came just days after the crash killed more than 270 people, leaving the survivor bandaged and grieving
• New footage has emerged showing his dramatic escape from the wreckage and the heroic efforts of first responders

The British man who miraculously survived last week’s catastrophic Air India crash has attended his brother’s funeral in the coastal town of Diu, western India.

Vishwashkumar Ramesh, 40, emerged as the sole survivor of the fatal crash involving a London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

The plane went down moments after take-off from Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 270 people, including nearly 30 individuals on the ground. Among the victims was Mr Ramesh’s brother, Ajay, who was seated just a few rows away from him on the doomed flight.

Funeral in Diu draws mourning crowd

Mr Ramesh, visibly grief-stricken and swathed in white bandages after spending five days in hospital, served as one of the pallbearers at his brother's funeral procession.

His mother, dressed in a blue sari, walked beside the coffin. Despite torrential rain, residents of Diu — a town that lost 14 others in the crash — gathered in large numbers to pay their respects.

Dramatic escape from wreckage of Air India crash

It remains unclear how Mr Ramesh survived the inferno. Eyewitness accounts reveal that he even attempted to return to the burning aircraft in search of his brother.

Newly emerged video footage captured by first responders shows him walking from the wreckage as flames and smoke engulf the crash site. Ambulance driver Satinder Singh Sandhu was seen guiding the injured man to safety. Mr Sandhu, a supervisor with Ahmedabad’s emergency services, said he hadn’t realised he was assisting the sole survivor until later news reports revealed the man’s identity.

“I also saw a woman. She was screaming in horror. Her son who ran a tea stall had been killed in the crash,” Mr Sandhu recalled. He described seeing Mr Ramesh appear from the site in a white shirt, his arms burned and face bloodied.

First responders act swiftly at crash scene

Mr Sandhu was eating lunch when he noticed “a massive fire with thick smoke rising into the sky.”

Assuming it was a local incident, he quickly deployed his team and rushed to the location, discovering the remains of the aircraft.

“He had no idea what he was doing. He kept going in and out of the complex,” Sandhu said of Mr Ramesh. “That’s when he said to me that his relative was trapped inside and he wanted to go save him. We did not speak a word after that.”

Ramesh later confirmed to DD News, "I still can't believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble."

Investigation into Air India crash underway

Officials have recovered the cockpit voice and flight data recorders – commonly known as the black box – and are currently analysing the evidence to determine the cause of the disaster.

Until then, the question of how one man survived such overwhelming destruction remains unanswered. But for Vishwashkumar Ramesh, the loss of his brother overshadows the miracle of his survival.

See the video below:

Source: Legit.ng