“My body, like my knee, back, shoulder and left side, is burning in my hand.”
Ramesh’s younger brother Ajay was also on the plane and died instantly on impact.
“It is painful. I am finding it very difficult, both mentally and physically”: Viswashkumar Ramesh. Credit: 60 minutes/NINE
“My mother, always sitting in front of my brother’s photo, just cries and thinks about my brother.”
Somehow, Ramesh managed to kick open the emergency exit and miraculously get out of the rubble.
“The flashback has appeared on my face, in front of my eyes,” he said.
“It’s painful. It’s painful to talk about.”
The sole survivor is supported by his family advisor, Sanjiv Patel, and a family-appointed spokesperson, Radd Seiger.
They have taken the difficult step of speaking publicly because Ramesh desperately needs help and feels abandoned by Air India.
“Air India top executives made a public announcement early on. [saying] We will take care of the families who are victims,” Patel said.
“But in practice, the machinery has consisted of unfamiliar faces, emails, documents placed in front of people to sign, without understanding what that means.”
Before the accident, Ramesh was helping his brother Ajay in the family’s fishing business in Diu, a small town on the western coast of India.
He was on his way home to England, where he has lived for many years, when disaster struck.
Last month he finally got back on a plane to make the brave journey back to Leicester with his wife and young son.
He is unable to work and seeks physical and mental medical attention.
“I will stay alone in my room,” Ramesh said. “I don’t spend time with my family, like my wife and my son.”
60 Minutes reporter Dimity Clancey interviews Viswashkumar Ramesh in the UK.Credit: 60 minutes
Like others affected by this disaster, the Ramesh family has no answers about what went wrong on the doomed Dreamliner.
India’s Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau released an interim report a month after the accident.
It revealed that the plane’s fuel supply switches were cut off shortly after takeoff and then turned back on within seconds.
But it has not yet been formally declared who or what exactly is to blame for the accident.
Ramesh wants to meet Air India CEO Campbell Wilson face to face for help.
Instead, Air India has offered a meeting with executives from the Tata Group, which owns the airline.
“Sanjiv and I have done everything we can to try to resolve this privately without having to ask for help,” Seiger said.
“This is not going to happen by email or by lawyers. The CEO has to come and meet with us so we can help us, help him.”
Air India has awarded Ramesh an interim payment of £21,500 (just over $43,000), the same help offered to all families who lost a loved one on Flight 171.
But Seiger said, for him and his family, that’s not enough.
Charging
“They don’t want to go to war with Air India, they just want help. And in this case, there is an immediate and urgent need for intensive psychiatric treatment, as you can probably see. They have to fix that and they have to pay for it,” Seiger said.
In a statement, Air India said it was aware of its responsibility to provide support to Ramesh.
“We are acutely aware that this remains an incredibly difficult time for everyone affected and we continue to offer the support, compassion and care that we can given the circumstances.”
Along with dozens of other affected families, Ramesh has hired lawyers to help him navigate what is sure to be a long road ahead.
“I need help. Come and meet,” he said.
“To Air India, listen to my problem.”
*Nine is the owner of this header.
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