Ahmedabad, June 14 : In a remarkable twist of fate, renowned Thai singer Ruangsak Loychusak has revealed that he survived a fatal plane crash in 1998 while seated in 11A—the very same seat recently occupied by the sole survivor of the devastating Air India Flight AI171 disaster.
Now 47, Ruangsak was a teenager when he boarded Thai Airways Flight TG261 from Bangkok to Surat Thani. The aircraft tragically crashed into a swamp during its landing attempt, claiming the lives of 101 out of 146 people on board, including 132 passengers and 14 crew. Another 45 passengers sustained injuries in the harrowing accident.
This week, Ruangsak shared his shock upon learning that British national Vishwas Kumar Ramesh—who miraculously survived the recent Air India crash in Ahmedabad—had also been seated in 11A.
“I got goosebumps,” he said. “The lone survivor in India’s crash sat in the same seat number—11A—that I was in during the Thai Airways tragedy.”
Although Ruangsak no longer has his boarding pass from the 1998 flight, he affirmed that news archives and coverage from the time confirmed his seat number. The coincidence has stirred deep emotions in the singer, who offered heartfelt condolences to those affected by the recent Air India tragedy.
“I want to express my deepest sympathies to all the families who lost loved ones,” he added.
Since surviving one of Thailand’s worst aviation disasters, Ruangsak has often spoken about viewing his life as a “second chance.” The coincidence of seat 11A serving as a place of survival in two separate tragedies, 26 years apart, has left many both astonished and reflective.
