Police report that a survivor of the Air India crash jumped from an emergency exit.

Police said that Ramesh Viswashkumar was sitting next to an emergency exit on the flight bound for London and jumped out. He is the only survivor of the 242 passengers onboard the plane.

The 40-year old told Indian media from his hospital bed that he is a British citizen and was traveling to Britain with brother after visiting his family in India.

When I woke up, there was a mass of dead bodies around me. I was terrified. I ran. I saw pieces of the plane everywhere. "Someone grabbed me, put me in the ambulance, and took me to hospital," Viswashkumar said to the Hindustan Times.

A medic helped a man who was wearing a white tee-shirt with bloodstains and dark trousers on the street. The footage appeared on Indian news channels. The man was covered in bruises and had a goatee, similar to the photos of Viswashkumar taken by local media after his accident.

Could not verify the video in which the man was asked by a group of people where the other passengers were, and he responded "they're inside."

Viswashkumar was shown in a photo of his boarding pass posted online by The Hindustan Times. He was sitting at seat 11A on the plane heading to Gatwick Airport.

He told the newspaper that his brother Ajay was seated in another row of the plane, and he asked for assistance to locate him.

Viswashkumar was able to escape the car by jumping through the emergency door.

An anonymous member of Viswashkumar’s family in Britain told me over the phone that Viswashkumar had survived. The family is in contact with him. However, they declined to provide any further information.

Ajay Vagi, Viswashkumar's cousin who lives in Leicester (central England), told the BBC Viswashkumar had spoken by phone to confirm that he was fine. Valgi told the BBC that Viswashkumar only confirmed his well-being by phone.

Valgi stated that the family hadn't heard about his brother. "We are not doing well. "We're all angry," he said.

Viswashkumar, who is married, has one son, a boy.

In the worst aviation accident in the last decade, the aircraft crashed in a residential neighborhood, onto a hostel of a medical school outside the airport, during the lunch hour. The crash killed more than 290 people. Some of the dead were found on the ground.

The police said that Viswashkumar is the only passenger who has survived so far, but they added that rescue efforts are still ongoing.

Chaudhary stated that "chances are there could be more survivors" among those being treated at the hospital. Reporting by Shivam patel in New Delhi, with additional reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in London, and Sumit Khanna from Ahmedabad. Editing by Alison Williams.

(source: Reuters)