Srinagar, July 12 -- Vishwas, an Indian-origin British national, was the only person to walk away alive after Flight AI171, a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The crash claimed the lives of 241 passengers and crew members on board and 19 people on the ground. Among the dead was his younger brother, Ajay.

Vishwas was seated on 11A, near the emergency door on the left side of the aircraft. That detail, seemingly insignificant at the time of boarding, likely saved his life.

"Luckily, the portion of the plane where I was seated fell on the ground floor of the medical college hostel premises after the crash-landing," he recalled in an intervi...