A Miraculous Escape: Bhumi Chauhan’s Brush With Fate As She Misses The Ill-fated Air India Flight

Bhumi Chauhan, a 28-year-old business administration student living in Bristol with her husband, had been eagerly anticipating her return to the UK after a holiday in Western India. However, her journey home on June 12th would become a story of both frustration and profound gratitude-a brush with fate that spared her from tragedy.

Chauhan, who had moved to London two years ago on a study visa, was visiting her hometown of Ahmedabad for the first time since relocating. She was scheduled to board Air India flight AI171 to London Gatwick, a routine journey home. But as she made her way to the airport, bumper-to-bumper traffic turned her trip into a race against time. Despite her best efforts, she arrived just 10 minutes after check-in had closed for her flight.

"I was so angry and frustrated," Chauhan recalls while speaking to the media. "The driver and I argued, and I left the airport in disappointment after the airline staff refused to let me board." As she stood outside the airport, sipping tea and discussing refund options with her travel agent, her frustration soon turned to shock and horror. A phone call brought the devastating news: the very flight she had missed had crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all but one person on board and many more on the ground. The tragedy claimed 265 lives in total.

'I am shivering after I learnt about the crash,' Chauhan told reporters. 'I left the airport at 1:30 pm as I missed the flight due to traffic. I thank God. My prayers for all those who were on board.' The flight had taken off at 1:39 pm, only to crash less than a minute later into a medical college complex near the airport, bursting into flames.

Chauhan, who was travelling alone, said she had pleaded with airport authorities to let her board but was denied. 'This is a miracle. Mataji and Ganpati bappa protected me. I am terrified at the loss of lives. I am totally numb,' she added.

Bhumi attributes her survival to divine intervention and the unpredictable twists of fate. And this one case is more than enough for us to be reminded of the fragility of life and the unpredictable nature of our journeys.