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Sole survivor of Air India crash speaks of trauma

Viswashkumar Ramesh said he feels like the "luckiest man alive", but told the BBC he had suffered physically and mentally after losing his brother in the crash. (Source: Breakfast)

The lone survivor of the Air India crash that killed 241 people earlier this year has described the trauma of losing his brother in the disaster.

Viswashkumar Ramesh was headed to London when the flight crashed minutes after taking off from India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad on June 12.

His story gained international attention after he was videoed walking away from one of India's worst aviation disasters, and the first crash for a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

Speaking to the BBC, the 39-year-old said he was suffering emotionally and physically after the ordeal.

Miracle sole survivor of Air India plane crash reveals his trauma - watch on TVNZ+

"I'm only one survivor. Still, I'm not believing. It's a miracle," he said.

"I lost my brother as well. My brother is my backbone. Last few years, he was always supporting me."

Ramesh was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after returning to his home in Leicester.

Asked how he was doing, he said: "Still not good".

"It is very painful for me to explain [what] happened, still. I can't say anything more than that," he said.

Ramesh said he was the "luckiest man", but losing his brother meant he had "lost everything".

At the time of the crash, Ramesh - who was seated in 11A - said his side of the plane fell onto the ground floor of a building, and there was space for him to escape after the door broke open. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane.

"When I opened my eyes, I realised I was alive," he said from his hospital bed in June.

Ramesh sustained burn injuries on his left hand and walked some distance in shock before he was assisted by the locals and taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

The plane was carrying 230 passengers — 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian — along with 12 crew members.

Nineteen people were killed on the ground.

A preliminary investigation report released in July said fuel control switches for the engines of an Air India flight were moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position moments before impact, starving both engines of fuel.

The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, also indicated that both pilots were confused over the change to the switch setting, which caused a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff.

The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a kiwi mum pleads for help after a firebomb attack, the NZ hopes at the Melbourne Cup, and a notorious pitch invader strikes again. (Source: Breakfast)

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