“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.”
