A Thai actor was shocked when the sole survivor of a plane crash in India had the same seat number as he had on the flight that crashed 27 years ago.
On social media, James Ruangsak Loychusak shared his emotions after reading the news about the sole survivor among 242 passengers and crew members on the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state.
“Goosebumps. He was sitting in my exact seat number – 11A,” the actor wrote.
James survived the crash of a Thai Airways Airbus A310-300 into a rubber plantation in Surat Thani province on December 11, 1998. The crash killed 101 people and injured 45, including James in seat 11A, according to Khaosod .
Apart from being surprised by the strange coincidence, the actor also sent his condolences to the victims and families who lost loved ones in the Air India tragedy.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah visited Vishwash Kumar Ramesh – the sole survivor of the flight – at a hospital in Ahmedabad on June 12.
The sole survivor was a British citizen of Indian origin. He is believed to have been thrown from the plane and stood up, running to a nearby ambulance for help.
Dr Dhaval Gameti, who treated him, said Ramesh was injured in many places and was disoriented, but was out of danger.
On social media, users commented on the extraordinary nature of the plane crash’s survival, calling it “unbelievable”, “miraculous”, “divine intervention” and “a miracle”.
It is rare for a single person to survive a major aviation disaster. The incident has attracted widespread attention around the world, with many people looking into similar cases.
In recent decades, several other notable cases of sole survivors have been recorded in the history of civil aviation.
For example, George Lamson Jr., then 17 years old, survived the Galaxy Airlines crash in Reno, Nevada, in 1985.
Bahia Bakari survived the Yemenia Airways plane crash near the Comoro Islands in 2009.
Jim Polehinke, co-pilot and sole survivor of the Comair crash in Lexington, Kentucky in 2006.