A British man – the sole survivor of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad – has been discharged from hospital, the airline has confirmed.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, has since been seen in video as a pallbearer for the coffin of his brother – one of the 241 people killed in the crash – at a funeral in western India.

At least 30 people also died on the ground as the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner struck a medical college hostel shortly after take-off from the airport in the state of Gujarat on Thursday.

In a statement, Air India said it was “in mourning for the tragic loss” of passengers and crew aboard flight AI171 and is in contact with relatives of those killed, including 52 British nationals.

It said it was working to repatriate the deceased to the UK and other parts of the world, adding: “The sole survivor of the accident, also a British national, has been discharged from hospital.”

“The investigation is ongoing,” it said. “We are cooperating with all parties involved and are committed to sharing verified information and will continue to provide updates wherever we can.”

On flight AI171 to Gatwick, there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian among the passengers, along with 12 crew.

The only survivor, Mr Ramesh, was in seat 11A, near the emergency exit. Speaking from his hospital bed on Friday, he said he “still can’t believe” he survived.

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Dozens of anxious family members are waiting to collect the bodies of loved ones as doctors work to gather dental samples and perform DNA profiling to identify victims.

Air India and the Indian government are looking at issues linked to engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained extended, or in the down position, after take-off.

Both the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, also called black boxes, have been recovered. They will be crucial to the crash investigation, which includes air accident investigators from the UK and US.

India’s aviation safety watchdog has asked Air India for the training records of the pilots and dispatchers, while an inspection of Air India’s 787 fleet did not reveal any major issues.

While there has not been an update on the possible cause of the crash, Indian officials have raised concerns about recent maintenance-related issues reported by the airline and advised the carrier to “strictly adhere to regulations”.

Russia is getting nervous about Donald Trump’s trigger finger, and it shows.

Comments from deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov – warning the US against joining Israel’s military campaign – betray Moscow’s growing unease that it could be about to lose its closest Middle Eastern ally.

Russia has strong ties with Iran, which have deepened since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

These were formalised in a strategic partnership pact the two countries signed at the start of the year.

Israel-Iran conflict – live updates

So, at first, Russia seemed to view its ally’s conflict with Israel as an opportunity to gain leverage. The Kremlin was quick to offer its services as a potential mediator.

If Vladimir Putin could persuade Tehran to back down and return to nuclear talks with Washington, he’d potentially have a favour to cash in with the White House over its military support for Ukraine.

But the offers to mediate fell on deaf ears.

And with Mr Trump threatening to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader, Moscow has switched to crisis mode – fearful of losing its second key regional ally in six months, after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.

So, as well as Ryabkov, other senior figures have taken to the airwaves.

Russia’s spy chief Sergei Naryshkin called the situation “critical”.

Read more:
Who has been targeted in Iran?
How the conflict escalated

And, according to ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the world is “millimetres away from catastrophe” due to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

It’s quite the spectacle – a country that’s been waging war on its neighbour for more than three years is now urging others to show military restraint.

That’s because US involvement poses serious consequences, not just for Iran, but for Russia too.

This is the highest stakes diplomacy via social media. 

The American president just posted on his Truth Social platform: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.

“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers.

“Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Israel-Iran live: Trump says US knows where Iran’s supreme leader is ‘hiding’

It was followed minutes later by “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

In real-time, we are witnessing Donald Trump’s extreme version of maximum pressure diplomacy.

He’d probably call it the ‘art of the deal’, but bunker busters are the tool, and it comes with such huge consequences, intended and unintended, known and unknown.

Read more:
The bunker buster bomb which could destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions

There is intentional ambiguity in the president’s messaging. His assumption is that he can apply his ‘art of the deal’ strategy to a deeply ideological geopolitical challenge.

It’s all playing out publicly. Overnight, the New York Times, via two of its best-sourced reporters, had been told that Mr Trump is weighing whether to use B-2 aircraft to drop bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.

Meanwhile, Axios was reporting that a meeting is possible between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.

The reporting came just as Mr Trump warned “everyone in Tehran to evacuate”. The nuclear sites being threatened with bunker busters are not in Tehran, but Trump’s words are designed to stoke tension, to confuse and to apply intense pressure.

His actions are too. He left the G7 in Canada early and asked his teams to gather in the White House Situation Room.

This is a game of smoke, mirrors, brinkmanship and – maybe – bluff. In Tehran, what’s left of the leadership is watching and reading closely as they consider what’s next.

Maybe the Supreme Leader and his regime’s days are numbered. Things remain very unpredictable.

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From history, though, regime change, even when it comes with a plan – and there is certainly not one here, spells civil war and from that comes a refugee crisis.

These are truly tense and chaotic times.