Mc Richard Paglicawan
In a chilling twist of fate, Thai singer-actor James Ruangsak Loychusak, a survivor of a tragic 1998 plane crash, discovered that the sole survivor of the recent Air India crash also occupied the exact same seat: 11A.
Loychusak, now 47, survived the 1998 crash of Thai Airways Flight TG261, which went down in a swamp in Surat Thani during a failed landing attempt. Of the 146 people onboard, 101 perished. Loychusak was among the lucky few who lived — seated then in 11A.
Fast forward 27 years to June 12, 2025, when Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed just 33 seconds after takeoff. The accident claimed 241 lives, sparing only one: Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British Indian national — also seated in 11A.
Shocked by the coincidence, Loychusak shared his thoughts on social media: “Survivor of a plane crash in India. He sat in the same seat as me. 11A. My condolences to all those who lost.”
Ramesh, who had been visiting family in India, was seated near the plane’s emergency exit. In interviews, he recounted how the aircraft broke apart mid-air and how he was flung out before the plane exploded.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran… Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance,” he said.
Still recovering in the hospital, Ramesh remains anxious about the fate of his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, who was also on the flight but seated elsewhere. His family in London — including his wife and child — are now hoping for his safe return.
