Leaving hospital with wounds still fresh, the sole survivor of last week’s Air India plane crash solemnly carried the coffin of his brother, performing the last rites for a life lost in the deadly disaster.

News of the sole survivor of an Air India plane crash that killed the other 241 people aboard has led to endless fascination online.

There have been cases of a very small number of survivors in very serious accidents, but it is "very rare" for there to be only one, a professor told Newsweek.