When he learnt about the Air India tragedy, a Thai actor-singer who survived a fatal jet accident 27 years earlier observed a strange coincidence: the only survivor was sitting in seat 11A, which was exactly the same as his.
Ruangsak Loychusak, 20, narrowly avoided death on December 11, 1998, when Thai Airways Flight TG261 stopped and fell into a swamp during an attempt to land in southern Thailand, killing 101 of the 146 passengers.
After learning that Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national who made a fortunate escape in the Air India Flight AI171 tragedy, was sat in 11A when the jet went down, Ruangsak, 47, claimed he got chills.
“Survivor of a plane crash in India,” Ruangsak wrote in a Thai-language Facebook post. He took a seat next to me. 11A.
On Thursday afternoon, just after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, the Boeing Dreamliner crashed. Ramesh was the only one who survived out of the 242 passengers.
Although Ruangsak stated that he no longer had his 1998 boarding card, he claimed that newspaper publications had recorded his survival and seat number.
The actor has freely discussed the anguish and survivor’s guilt he suffered for years after defying death on multiple occasions. He reportedly didn’t fly for ten years after that.
Ruangsak conveyed his sympathies to the families impacted by the Air India tragedy and referred to his life since the incident as a “second life”.
The public is in a state of shock and curiosity due to the miracle on seat 11A. Despite suffering numerous injuries, Ramesh, who was sitting near the emergency exit, was flung out the plane upon impact and made it to a waiting ambulance.
Ramesh, who was speaking from the hospital, claimed he was unsure of how he managed to survive when everyone else on the fateful plane died.
“I believed for a while that I would also pass away. However, I tried to unbuckle myself from the seat and get out of there as soon as I could after seeing I was still alive when I opened my eyes,” he told DD News.
Interest in emergency departure seats on commercial aeroplanes, especially seat 11A, has increased as a result of the excitement around Ramesh’s tight escape. People trying to reserve these tickets for their next flight are posting all over social media.
