The death toll of the Air India plane crash, both on the plane and the ground, reached 279 people. The plane was carrying 242 passengers and crew members, 241 of which died at the scene, and only one of them escaped death.

The number of people killed could be much higher had it not been for the pilot’s last effort to avoid much bigger tragedy from taking place. Allegedly, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an experienced pilot with more than 8,200 hours of flying, made a split-second decision to avoid the Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, located just over 5km away from Ahmedabad airport.

The medical facility reportedly has over 3,000 beds, so if the plane had crashed there, the loss of lives could have been far greater than what actually occurred.

The sole crash survivor, 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British citizen, is now sharing his story from the hospital bed.

However, many find it hard to believe that he escaped the plane that easily. Some even suggested that “the more he talks, the more suspicious it gets.”

Footage of the scene show Ramesh simply walking away from the crash site.

Speaking to the media, he explained that he managed to unbuckle the seat and pushed an opening using his leg. According to him, the emergency door was already broken.

“My seat was broken, the door was broken. I saw an opening, so I just got out,” he said, as per the Daily Mail.

A simulation of the flight shows possible ways he escaped death.

Ramesh was born in India but has been living in Britain since 2003.

He was traveling to Britain from India to visit relatives along with his brother who died in the crash.

Ramesh, who didn’t sustain any injuries, just bruises, was visited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who wished him well.

Due to the intensive flames and the burns, medical officials are having trouble identifying the victims on flight AI171.

The New York Times reports that initial findings showed the “temperatures at the crash site had reached 1,500 degrees Celsius, or 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit.” 

The director of the Gandhinagar Forensic Science Laboratory, HP Sanghvi, explained that “These high temperatures affect the DNA present in various parts of the body.

“The entire process—from collecting DNA samples of victims and their families to final matching—is being carried out 24/7,” he said.

While some suspect the authenticity of Ramesh’s story, most are convinced he was being lucky and wish he recovers completely.