“My condolences go out to everyone who lost someone in these tragedies.”

He shared that newspapers from the time documented his seat number, though he no longer has his boarding pass from that fateful flight.

Mr. Ruangsak also spoke of his “second life” since surviving the 1998 crash.

“I struggled with flying for a decade after the accident. Breathing was difficult, even when air circulation was normal,” he recalled.

“I rarely spoke to anyone and always gazed out the window, not letting anyone close it so I could feel safe.”

“If I saw storm clouds or heavy rain, I felt like I was back in that nightmare.”

“I can still remember every detail—the sounds, the smells, even the taste of the swamp water where we crashed. For a long time, I kept these feelings inside.”

Shortly after takeoff on Thursday, an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner collided with buildings.

The plane exploded into flames on its way to London Gatwick.

Among 244 on board, only 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh from Leicester, UK, survived.

Ramesh described his ordeal, saying he was “ejected” from the jet just before it crashed and burned.

From his hospital bed in Ahmedabad, he told medics that as the plane lifted off, it started to drop, split apart, and hurled him out before a massive explosion.

After examining Mr. Ramesh, Dr. Dhaval Gameti of the Associated Press said that while he had many injuries and was confused, he “seems to be out of danger.”

“I don’t know how I survived,” Mr. Ramesh told India’s Doordarshan TV.

“For a moment, I thought my life was over. But then I realized I was alive. I unbuckled my seatbelt and escaped,” he said, recalling that he witnessed two crew members “die right before my eyes.”

He shared that as the plane hit the ground, the emergency door next to his seat broke off.

Moments after takeoff, he said, “it felt like the plane was stuck.”

He remembered the pilots fighting to lift the aircraft, but it “accelerated and crashed into the building.”

Mr. Ramesh suffered a burned arm and described how the plane quickly went up in flames.

Before being taken to the hospital, Mr. Ramesh was seen in shocking video footage, staggering away from the wreckage.

His brother was also on the flight and is believed to have died. Just before the crash, Ramesh heard “a loud noise.”

“When I got up, bodies were everywhere. I was terrified. I stood up and ran,” he recalled.

“There was debris all around. Someone grabbed me, put me in an ambulance, and took me to the hospital.”

India’s prime minister met with the survivor and those injured on Friday, offering condolences and support.