Ramesh Viswashkumar’s Survival: A Living Proof That God Still Works Miracles

When news broke of the horrifying crash of Air India Flight AI171, which claimed the lives of 241 people, the world stood still in disbelief. The devastating images from the crash site in Ahmedabad, India, charred wreckage, emergency workers pulling lifeless bodies, and fire licking the mangled debris, told a grim tale of loss. Yet, from within that tragedy emerged a testimony so extraordinary, it silences doubt as one soul survived. The lone survivor, Ramesh Viswashkumar, was reported to have been sitting near an emergency exit of the London-bound flight and managed to jump out, police said.

Speaking from his hospital bed, the 40-year-old told Indian media that he was a British national and was travelling to Britain with his brother after visiting family in India.

Yes, in a world where faith is often mocked and God’s existence questioned, this lone survivor’s story confronts us with a reality we too often forget: miracles still happen. God is not absent. He is not distant. He is in the midst of the fire.

As expected, starting from today, medical experts will probe. Aviation analysts will search for answers. But the truth, as any person of faith would boldly proclaim, lies far beyond human logic. The survival of one person amid such widespread destruction is not luck. It is not coincidence. It is a divine act.

Jeremiah 32:27 reminds us: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?” This scripture echoes like thunder in the face of that lone survivor's reality. When all odds said “perish,” God whispered, “Live.” His mercy interrupted the grip of death. His hand reached into the flames, just as He has done time and again.

Aptly put, God is always right in the midst of the storm. Too often, when tragedy strikes, people ask, “Where is God?” The more accurate question is: “Are we still enough to perceive Him?” Because even when the plane crashes, the bills pile, or sickness comes, He is there.

Psalm 46:1 says: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” He does not show up after the storm; He walks within it. As fire consumed that aircraft, God was present. Just as He stood with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, He was there, shielding one life to remind the world: I am still God.

Daniel 3:25 says: “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Let that not be mere biblical poetry. It is reality. It is now.

In fact, when 241 people perished in an instant, and one walks away alive, that is no doubt the miracle of mercy. The miracle is not just in survival but in the message survival brings.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” It is that mercy that stepped between one soul and death. And let us be clear: that same mercy is still active today, not just for the survivor of a plane crash, but for the mother struggling to feed her child, the father unable to pay rent, the youth battling depression, and the nation staggering under economic hardship.

We must not forget: even when life feels like a wreckage, God’s grace remains intact. In your loneliness, in your financial crisis, in your medical diagnosis, God still performs wonders.

In fact, God still does wonders. In an age where men worship science and logic, this incident is a thunderous reminder that God still performs wonders. He is not retired. He is not tired. He is not distracted.

Psalm 77:14 says: “You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.” Let the intellectuals scoff. Let the skeptics analyze. But we who believe must stand taller in our conviction. This lone survivor is not just a story, it is a sermon. A pulpit in ashes. A voice crying from the wreckage: “There is nothing God cannot do!”

If this story teaches us anything, it is this: Never give up. Do not surrender to despair. When the night is darkest, that is often when God shows up most brightly. If He could deliver one man from a burning aircraft, He can deliver you from the fire in your life too.

Isaiah 43:2 says: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

These are not abstract promises. These are living truths. They are divine guarantees backed by a covenant-keeping God. He does not promise that we will not go through hard times, but He promises we will not be alone.

If you are reading this in a hospital bed, in a courtroom, at a bus stop with only your fare home, or lying awake wondering how to feed your children, hear this: do not give up. God is still on the throne.

This miraculous survival is also a clarion call to those who doubt God’s existence. Some will argue, “Why did He not save everyone?” But such questions miss the point. His ways are higher than ours.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways…”

If God allowed one to live, there is a divine message therein. Perhaps it is to awaken our dull spirits, to remind us that in the madness of this world, He still reigns. That in a generation choking on atheism, He still reveals Himself with undeniable clarity.

Survival in a disaster of such magnitude is not merely a second chance at life, it is a call to destiny. God never preserves without purpose.

Romans 8:28 assures us: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” The survivor now becomes a messenger. His life becomes a living epistle, proof that God is not dead. He’s not even silent.

This event should stir believers to deeper faith and the world to repentance. Because when God moves this boldly, we must not ignore it.

In fact, there is nothing Too Hard for God. As a journalist, I have written about many tragedies. I have reported statistics, interviewed victims, and covered funerals. But few stories shake the soul like this one. Few stories remind us, with such fierce clarity, that we are never truly alone.

Zephaniah 3:17 says: “The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love…”

Yes, God is in our midst. Not just in churches, not just in revivals, but in plane crashes, in burn wards, in war zones, in quiet bedrooms where tears flow. He is near. He is able. And He is still in the business of doing the impossible.

So let the world say what it will. Let the scientists calculate, let the skeptics speculate. As for me and the millions who believe, this story is not a fluke. It is not a mystery. It is God. It is miracle. It is a voice from heaven saying yet again: “Be still, and know that I am God”, as enshrined in Psalm 46:10. Let that be your strength today. Do not give up. God still works miracles. He still walks through fire. And above all, He still reigns.