A Twist of Fate: The Woman Who Missed Flight AI171
In a remarkable story of survival against all odds, a woman named Bhoomi Chauhan had a narrow escape from the tragic Air India flight AI171 crash on Thursday. Scheduled to be on the flight back to her home in London, Chauhan was saved by a mundane turn of events—she was delayed by ten minutes after getting stuck in traffic and was unable to board the plane.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport around 1:38 PM. Chauhan mentioned that she had left the airport at approximately 1:30 PM after realizing she had missed her flight.
Speaking to Republic TV about her incredible fortune, Chauhan expressed her profound shock and devastation upon learning of the crash. "I am completely devastated after hearing about the loss (of lives). My body is literally shivering. I am not being able to talk," she said, her mind left "totally blank" by the news.
Chauhan, who had come to India on vacation after two years, described her survival as a form of divine intervention. "Just because of those ten minutes, I could not board the flight. I don't know how to explain this," she recounted. Her story stands in stark contrast to the fate of the 241 other individuals on board, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who perished in the crash. The flight's crew consisted of two pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar, and ten cabin crew members. As of the latest reports, there is only one known survivor from the crash, a British national named Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
