In brief
"After missing her Air India flight to London due to heavy traffic, Bhoomi Chauhan later learned the plane had crashed shortly after takeoff, causing her to reflect on her fortunate escape."
In a story that feels straight out of a movie, 28-year-old Bhoomi Chauhan was left frustrated after traffic delays caused her to miss her Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London by just 10 minutes. The business student, who resides in Bristol, had been on holiday in India when she was caught up in bumper-to-bumper traffic on her way to the airport. Arriving less than an hour before her flight was set to take off, Bhoomi was turned away by airline staff despite having checked in online.Once at the airport, she was consumed by disappointment. "I thought if I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane," she told BBC’s Gujarati service. But after leaving the airport and discussing refund options with her travel agent, she received devastating news: the flight she missed, AI171, crashed shortly after takeoff, claiming the lives of 241 passengers and crew members.Bhoomi’s last-minute change of plans spared her from what could have been a tragic fate. The Gatwick flight struggled to gain altitude shortly after leaving the runway, crashing into a residential area. Thankfully, one British passenger survived and is recovering in the hospital. Bhoomi expressed her disbelief, stating, "This is totally a miracle for me." With emergency services working tirelessly to investigate the crash, her story serves as a haunting reminder of how lives can change in the blink of an eye.
