Lone Survivor Pulled From Wreckage of Ahmedabad Plane Crash That Killed Over 200

Amid the overwhelming tragedy of Thursday’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, which left over 200 dead, a sliver of hope emerged with the rescue of a lone survivor from the wreckage.

State health official Dhananjay Dwivedi confirmed that the person survived the devastating crash of Flight 171 and is currently hospitalized. Details about their identity, condition, and how they survived such a catastrophic event have not yet been released, but officials said the survivor was pulled from the debris and rushed for emergency treatment.

The individual is believed to have been on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board—including 169 Indian nationals, 53 British passengers, and others—when it slammed into a densely populated neighborhood just moments after takeoff.

An AFP journalist at the scene described the crash site as chaotic, with bodies strewn across the area and thick smoke rising from burning buildings. In that context, the discovery of a survivor was nothing short of extraordinary.

Emergency workers, firefighters, and local residents worked desperately to clear the debris. One doctor, Krishna, who was in one of the impacted buildings, said he and colleagues managed to rescue several students from the adjacent canteen. While he saw dozens of badly burned bodies, he also helped carry out survivors from the buildings—raising the possibility that the lone flight survivor may have been among those reached quickly by medics.

Officials have not confirmed whether the survivor was seated near the front, rear, or center of the aircraft, nor whether they were rescued from inside the plane or one of the buildings it struck. However, the fact that anyone lived through the violent impact and ensuing fireball has stunned rescue teams.

Doctors say the survivor is receiving intensive care, and investigators hope to speak with them in the coming days to better understand what happened in the moments before the crash.

For now, the lone survivor represents a rare moment of hope in a disaster that has plunged families across multiple nations into mourning.