Woman Escapes Tragedy By Minutes After…

Missed Flight Turns into a Miracle

Bhoomi Chauhan, a 28-year-old student from Bristol, narrowly avoided tragedy when she missed her flight, Air India AI171, on June 12. The flight, scheduled from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed minutes after takeoff, killing nearly all 253 people on board. Chauhan arrived late due to heavy traffic. “We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration. I was very disappointed,” she said.

She had checked in online and held seat 36G, but the airline denied her boarding because she arrived just ten minutes after check-in closed. What initially felt like a travel disaster turned into a life-saving twist. “This is totally a miracle for me,” she later said after learning about the crash while speaking with her travel agent nearby.

Moments After Takeoff: A Deadly Crash

Flight AI171 took off around 1:30 p.m. but crashed within minutes, reportedly after struggling to gain altitude. The crash devastated a residential area and caused additional fatalities on the ground. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had 12 crew members and 241 passengers on board, including citizens from India, the UK, Portugal, and Canada.

A Survivor’s Harrowing Escape

British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, seated in 11A, miraculously survived. “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” he told Hindustan Times. Injured but conscious, he escaped the wreckage and called his family.