Newly emerged footage has prompted theories that Air India flight A171’s emergency doors may have flown off as it crashed.

Video appears to show a piece of debris flying through the air just before the Boeing smashed into the ground, killing all on board except British man Viswash Kumar Ramesh.

Some online have suggested the piece of debris could have been the emergency door next to Vishwash’s seat, 11A.

Vishwash says he believes the door next to his seat came off when the plane hit a building, before exploding into a fireball. He had just taken off his seatbelt before the crash.

Yesterday, 241 of the 242 onboard the flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick died.

One of the two black boxes on the plane has been recovered as authorities continue their investigation into the deadly crash.

Air India has set up friends and relatives assistance centres at Gatwick, Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad airports to provide support in the wake of AI171’s crash.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been in contact with the British survivor of the Air India plane crash, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, Downing Street has said.

A Number 10 spokesman said on Friday: ‘FCDO staff have been in contact with Mr Ramesh this morning to offer consular support.’

The British High Commissioner in India Lindy Cameron also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, according to Number 10, ‘offering her condolences and the UK’s support to the investigation’.

The spokesman also said the helpline set up by the Foreign Office in response to the crisis has received ‘almost 300’ calls as of Friday morning.

he sole survivor of the Air India plane crash has recounted seeing others dying near him as he miraculously escaped.

Ramesh Viswashkumar, who police said was in seat 11A near the emergency exit and managed to squeeze through the broken hatch, told Indian state broadcaster DD News from his hospital bed on Friday: ‘I don’t believe how I survived.

‘For some time I thought I was also going to die.

‘But when I opened my eyes, I realised I was alive and I tried to unbuckle myself from the seat and escape from where I could. It was in front of my eyes that the air hostess and others (died).’

He was travelling with his brother Ajay, who had been seated in a different row, members of his family have said.

The family of the British survivor of the Air India plane crash say they are ‘heartbroken’ and have had no support while they desperately try to get plane tickets to visit him in hospital.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was on the flight with his brother Ajay but is believed to be the only survivor on the plane involved in the disaster in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Speaking outside the family home in Leicester on Friday morning, Hiren Kantilal, who is a close cousin of the brothers, said: ‘We want to get out as soon as possible and we can meet our cousin brother Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.

‘We just want some help with flight tickets and everything. So we can get out of the country and meet our cousin brother. We are trying to get 14 to 13 people, relatives and family members and everyone

‘We have not got any support from India or the UK Government at all. We’re just heartbroken that this thing happened to us and they’re not providing anything, any flight tickets or anything.’

Gatwick has heightened security after deadly crash – live on the scene
Brooke Davies
Metro reporter Brooke Davies is back at Gatwick Airport this morning, more than 12 hours after the doomed Air India flight was meant to land.

On the face of it, you would not be able to tell Gatwick Airport was in the midst of one of the most devastating air crashes in years.

Excited travellers push trolleys stacked high with suitcases, and long queues snake round check in desks in both the North and South terminal.

But on closer look armed police stroll across entrances, and members of the media holding cameras stand outside one of the entrances as more tributes flood in for the 53 British nationals who perished in the Air India crash.

The check in desk for the airline is also no where to be found but family liason centre is meant to have been set up for victim’s loved ones.

Gatwick Airport confirmed they would not be commenting again as the crash was being investigated by Air India.

June 13, 2025 11:04 am
Ahmedabad traffic ‘saved’ student’s life
Sarah Hooper
A local student who was meant to be on the Air India flight that crashed has said traffic in town saved her life.

Bhumi Chauhan told the BBC: ‘Earlier I thought that Ahmedabad’s traffic would cost me my ticket money and my job.

‘Even though I lost my money, I am happy that my life was saved. We had reached Ahmedabad on time from Ankleshwar, but due to Ahmedabad’s traffic, I reached the airport five minutes late, due to which I was not allowed to enter the airport.’

Six victims released to their families, police say
Sarah Hooper
The process of using DNA to identify victims from living family members appears to be moving quickly.

Local police have said six bodies were released to families.

he sole surviving passenger from the Air India crash said the lights on the plane began to flicker before the aircraft hit the ground.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, told DD News: ‘When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air. Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there.’