Still in shock, Ramesh admitted he doesn’t fully understand how he survived: “I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me. I walked out of the rubble.”

A Haunting Coincidence: Seat 11A

Ramesh’s survival has drawn comparisons to another aviation tragedy. He was seated in 11A — the very same seat that Thai singer Ruangsak Loychusak occupied when he survived the Thai Airways TG261 crash in 1998.

That flight, traveling from Bangkok to Surat Thani, stalled during its landing approach and crashed into a swamp. Out of the 146 people onboard, 101 passengers and 14 crew members died. Loychusak was one of the 45 injured survivors.

Now 47, Ruangsak Loychusak said he felt chills upon hearing the eerie similarity between the two events. “The lone survivor of the plane crash in India was sitting in the same seat number as me, 11A,” he told the press. “I want to offer my condolences to all those who lost loved ones in the tragedy.”

He went on to reveal how deeply the crash affected his mental health: “I had difficulty flying for 10 years after the crash. I would struggle breathing, even though the air circulation was normal. I avoided speaking to anyone and always stared outside the window, blocking anyone from closing it to maintain my sense of safety.”

He added, “If I saw dark clouds or a rainstorm outside, I would feel terrible, like I was in hell. I can still remember the sounds, smells, and even the taste of the water in the swamp the plane crashed into. For a long time, I would keep the feelings to myself.”

A Second Chance at Life

Despite the trauma, Loychusak expressed gratitude for surviving. He described his experience as receiving a “second life” — a sentiment that now resonates with Ramesh, the latest survivor of a tragedy tied by coincidence, fate, and a shared seat.