Family of British man who survived Air India crash breaks silence

The family of a British man who survived a horrific plane crash in India have said he has 'no idea' how he got out of the aircraft.

An Air India plane took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad, western India, but soon afterwards crashed into a residential building.

40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is thought to be the only survivor of the crash, and his family in Leicester spoke out on his survival.

The man's brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, said: “We were just shocked as soon as we heard it. I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We’re devastated, just devastated.

"He said I have no idea how I exited the plane."

The Air India flight crashed into a residential building (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Another relative, Jay, said that the plane crash survivor spoke to his father and asked after his brother Ajay who had been on the plane with him.

Jay told PA: "After the crash he spoke to his dad worrying about his brother saying ‘Where’s Ajay’?

"He’s got some injuries on his face. He was painted in blood. He was pretty much covered in blood, that’s what his dad said.

"He’s doing well I think. It’s a big shock. I don’t have many words to describe the incident."

Earlier in the day authorities had said they didn't expect to find any survivors from the plane crash before they announced that one person had been recovered from the wreckage.

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said: "The police found one survivor in seat 11A. One survivor has been found in the hospital and is under treatment.

The man who survived the crash had a brother on board and was asking about him when he spoke to his family (Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area."

Footage posted on social media showed a man walking away from the scene of the crash and being led towards an ambulance.

Speaking to the Hindustan Times, the crash survivor said: "Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.

"When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran.

"There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital."

He said he'd suffered 'impact injuries' to his chest, eyes and feet.

Authorities said they were continuing to search the site of the crash, with 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals on board the Air India flight and others in the building the Boeing 787 Dreamliner struck.