A student narrowly escaped death after missing an Air India flight by 10 minutes due to traffic, only to later learn the plane had crashed, killing all onboard.
Bhoomi Chauhan, a 28-year-old business administration student living in Bristol, narrowly escaped tragedy after missing her Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick by just 10 minutes.
While visiting family in western India, Chauhan’s return trip took a dramatic turn when she was delayed by heavy traffic in Ahmedabad. Despite checking in online and holding a boarding pass for seat 36G on flight AI171, she was denied boarding after arriving at the airport less than an hour before departure.
Frustrated, Chauhan and her husband left the terminal to get some tea and explore options for a ticket refund—only to receive devastating news: the plane had crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 241 passengers, 12 crew members, and at least 8 people on the ground.
“I was angry at the driver. I thought leaving a little earlier could have made the difference,” she told the BBC’s Gujarati service. “But now, I see it as a miracle.”
Chauhan had traveled over 200 kilometers from Ankleshwar to Ahmedabad and arrived at the airport at 12:20 PM, just as boarding was scheduled to begin. She pleaded with staff to allow her onboard, explaining she was only 10 minutes late, but her request was denied.
“They refused to let me in. We left upset, unaware that this delay was actually saving my life,” she said.
Flight AI171 departed on schedule Thursday afternoon but failed to gain altitude and crashed just 30 seconds later in a nearby residential area.
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SOURCES: ALLSCHOOL, THE NATION
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