A university student from the UK, Bhoomi Chauhan, narrowly escaped a deadly fate after missing Air India Flight 171 by just minutes—a flight that would tragically crash, claiming the lives of hundreds.
“UK Student Misses Deadly Flight by Minutes — Another British Man Miraculously Survives Crash”
Chauhan, 28, was set to return home to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. But heavy traffic from Ankleshwar—roughly 200 kilometers away—caused her to arrive at the airport at 12:20 p.m., just ten minutes after boarding was scheduled to begin. Despite having checked in online and holding a boarding pass for seat 36G, she was denied entry as the gate had already closed.
The missed flight, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people, departed at approximately 1:30 p.m. but crashed minutes later, slamming into a nearby residential area. All 12 crew members and nearly all passengers perished in the disaster, along with at least eight individuals on the ground.
Among the few survivors was Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national seated in 11A, who astonishingly managed to escape the wreckage. In a video circulating online, Ramesh was seen walking barefoot and dazed toward an ambulance, covered in soot and visibly shaken. He had been visiting India with his brother, Ajay, who remains missing.
Ramesh suffered injuries to his feet, chest, and eyes and is currently hospitalized. “I don’t know how I’m alive,” he reportedly told his family during a video call made from the crash site.