When an Air India flight crashed in India’s Ahmedabad with 242 on board in June 2025, only one passenger managed to survive the horrific accident, sustaining minor injuries. Him managing to jump off in the nick of time, while his own brother in the seat beside him did not survive, was no less than a miracle.
This week, a bus carrying Umrah pilgrims collided with a diesel tanker near Madina, killing 45. Only one passenger, Mohd Abdul Shoaib, survived, as the vehicle was completely engulfed in flames.
In case of such unfortunate incidents, stories of single survivors stand out as haunting testaments to fate, luck, and resilience. They defied odds in a situation where every other person died, making their survival even more uncanny.
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Here’s a look back at some of these miraculous survivals of recent tragedies:
1. Madinah bus crash
When: November 17, 2025
What happened: A tragic bus accident in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, claimed the lives of 45 Indian pilgrims after the vehicle collided with a diesel tanker and caught fire.
The group was travelling from Madinah to Makkah to perform Umrah. All those who died were Indian nationals, including a man from Karnataka who had been working in the UAE. Most of the victims belonged to two families based in Hyderabad.
One survivor remained, who is now undergoing treatment in a Saudi hospital. He has been identified as 24-year-old Mohd Abdul Shoaib from Hyderabad. He was reportedly seated next to the driver when the crash occurred, broke open a window and jumped to safety. The survivor lost his parents in the bus crash.
2. Air India crash
When: June 12, 2025
What happened: Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft carried 242 people, including passengers and crew. The crash resulted in one of India’s deadliest aviation tragedies in recent times.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian heritage, was the sole survivor. He was seated in 11A, an emergency-exit row. According to Ramesh, the emergency exit was broken in the crash, which allowed him to climb out.
Ramesh has spoken about dealing with the emotional toll of the accident — especially since he lost his brother in the same crash. Speaking to BBC earlier this month, Ramesh said he feels like the “luckiest man” alive, but is also suffering physically and mentally.
“I’m only one survivor. Still, I’m not believing. It’s a miracle… I lost my brother as well. My brother is my backbone… Now I’m alone. I just sit in my room alone, not talking with my wife, my son. I just like to be alone in my house,” the BBC quoted him as saying.
3. Beechcraft crash in Sudan
When: January 29, 2025
What happened: A Beechcraft 1900D operated by Eagle Air on behalf of Light Air Services crashed in Unity State, in South Sudan’s Greater Upper Nile region. The aircraft, which had departed GPOC Unity Airstrip on a scheduled charter flight to Juba International Airport, went down shortly after takeoff. A witness reported that a wing had snapped off, resulting in the aircraft losing altitude.
Of the 21 people on board — mostly oil workers traveling to the capital — 20 were killed, leaving just one survivor. Sixteen of the passengers were South Sudanese, with one Indian, two Chinese nationals and two Ugandan crew also on board.
4. South Africa bus crash
When: March 28, 2024
What happened: A passenger bus crashed near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo, South Africa’s northernmost province, killing 45 people and leaving only one survivor — an eight-year-old girl who was seriously injured. She had been accompanied by her grandmother, who died.
According to the South African Department of Transport, the tragedy unfolded when the driver lost control of the vehicle, sending the bus over a bridge before it burst into flames. The passengers were Easter pilgrims travelling from Molepolole in Botswana to Moria, South Africa.
5. Saurya Airlines crash in Nepal
When: July 24, 2024
What happened: A Saurya Airlines Bombardier CRJ-200 went down shortly after takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, killing 18 out of the 19 people on board.
The aircraft was carrying three crew members and sixteen passengers, mostly consisting of Saurya employees. According to Reuters, the aircraft was transporting the technicians to Pokhara, where another plane was awaiting repairs. It flipped during takeoff, struck the ground with its wing tip and caught fire before crashing into a gorge.
The only person to survive was the captain, Manish Ratna Shakya. His cockpit was said to have sheared off during the crash and separated from the rest of the plane, which likely contributed to his survival. The police broke a window and pulled him out. He suffered suffered head and facial injuries and was hospitalized.
“The pilot survived. He is in a stable condition,” Nepal police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki said. “It was a miracle.”
In a conversation with medical staff, Shakya recounted the moments leading up to the crash. “We couldn’t gain further altitude after the aircraft reached around 100 feet. It suddenly began descending. After it started to descend, I lost control, and when we hit the ground, I lost consciousness,” Shakya recalled, according to doctors.
6. Costa Rica plane crash
When: November 26, 2024
What happened: A small plane with six people on board crashed southeast of Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, leaving five dead. The sole survivor of the plane crash, a 31-year-old woman, was found approximately 50 meters from the wreckage, calling for help. She was admitted to the hospital in aserious condition.
The aircraft — a Cessna 206 Stationair — crashed near the Pico Blanco mountain shortly after midday after the plane lost communication and disappeared from the radar.
7. Northwestern Air plane crash
When: January 23, 2024
What happened: A Northwestern Air Flight 738, carrying workers from Fort Smith to the Diavik Diamond Mine, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing six of the seven passengers and crew. After the crash, an extensive post-crash fire broke out, which destroyed 80 per cent of the wreckage.
The only survivor, Kurt Macdonald, was ejected from the aircraft during the accident sequence and suffered minor injuries. Four mine employees and both pilots were killed.
A year after the crash, the survivor’s father, Jay Macdonald, said that his son was on the road to recovery. He added that Kurt was strong and had a lot of support – including that of his own son, Ari, who was only months old at the time.
“I knew everyone on the plane. “I felt obviously very, very happy that my son survived. At the same time, I felt a lot guilt that he survived… it was a really challenging day,” Jay Macdonald told CBC.
www.khaleejtimes.com (Article Sourced Website)
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