How Ramesh escaped with a few wounds is being described as nothing short of a miracle.

“I don’t know how I survived,” he told Indian state broadcaster DD News while in the hospital, explaining how he unbuckled himself from his seat in 11A – an emergency exit seat – shortly after the crash and walked away from the scene.

“For some time, I thought I was going to die. But when I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,” he said.

He and his brother, who had been sitting a few rows away, had been returning to the UK after spending a few weeks visiting family in India.

Video of Ramesh stumbling from the crash has been viewed widely on news channels and across social media. Flames can be seen billowing behind him, with thick plumes of smoke rising high into the sky.