Vishwashkumar, who was sitting in seat 11a on the Air India flight, is receiving treatment at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, where he has been visited by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also attended the bedside of locals who were not onboard the plane but were struck and injured by the crash.

It wasn’t clear yet, but Air India Flight 171 was going down.

"The [recovery of the black box] marks an important step forward in the investigation" and will "significantly aid the inquiry" into the disaster, Mr Kinjarapu said.