Bhoomi Chauhan, a 28-year-old student from Bristol, narrowly escaped death when she missed Air India Flight 171. She was supposed to fly from Ahmedabad to London on June 12 but got stuck in heavy traffic. Arriving ten minutes late, she was denied boarding — a delay that unexpectedly saved her life.
Chauhan felt frustrated and argued with airline staff to let her board, but rules were strict. “I was very disappointed,” she recalled. Moments later, she and her companions learned the shocking news over tea nearby: the plane had crashed minutes after takeoff, killing nearly everyone on board and several people on the ground.
She is Bhoomi Chauhan. Missed her Ahmedabad flight by just 10 minutes — the same flight that crashed in Gujarat today.
— BALA (@erbmjha) June 12, 2025
A delay that turned into destiny. pic.twitter.com/f53o9Rpeq8
While Bhoomi was spared by fate, one passenger, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, miraculously survived the crash. Seated in 11A, he crawled from the wreckage with chest and foot injuries and called his family in disbelief: “I don’t know how I am alive.”
Bhoomi now calls her missed flight a miracle. For her, what seemed like terrible luck turned out to be the greatest blessing.
