Today, a significant aviation accident occurred in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. An Air India aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport, bound for London. A total of 242 individuals were on board. As of now, precise information regarding casualties and survivors remains uncertain.
This is not an isolated event in aviation history. Many such accidents have occurred worldwide. There were incidents with no survivors, and surprisingly, there are stories where survival seemed implausible, yet a few emerged unharmed. Let's delve into some awe-inspiring tales of those who defied fate and survived a plane crash.
Liliana Estrada (2025)
On March 17, 2025, in Roatan, Honduras, one of the five survivors from the Lahansa Airlines crash was sitting near the wing. Tragically, two crew members and ten passengers perished. Estrada recounted how she managed to free herself from the seatbelt and swam away after the crash into the Caribbean Sea. She shared the unsettling moments when the small Jetstream 32 aircraft was already delayed and, during preparations for flight from the Caribbean coast of Honduras, something felt amiss. The plane skidded on the tarmac and was shaking dangerously when she took out her phone to text her boyfriend - 'Something is wrong. I love you.'
Lee Se Mokpo (2024)
On December 29, 2024, at South Korea's Muan International Airport, the sole surviving crew member, a flight attendant from Jeju Air, couldn't recall much about the tragic event that claimed 179 lives, leaving only two survivors. While in the hospital, Lee was asked about his injuries, to which he responded, 'What happened? Why am I here?' Lee also mentioned that he remembered fastening his seatbelt before the crash.
Ruben Van Assouw - (2010)
Nine-year-old Ruben van Assouw was the sole survivor when an Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330 crashed near the Tripoli Airport runway in Libya. Tragically, his parents and brother were among the 103 fatalities. Ruben underwent surgery for fractured legs and now resides with his aunt and uncle in the Netherlands, with plans to return to Libya scrapped due to post-revolution unrest in the country.
Bahia Bakari (2009)
On June 30, 2009, a Yemenia Airways flight heading to the Comoros Islands plummeted, crashing into the Indian Ocean. Bahia Bakari was the miraculous sole survivor from Yemenia Flight 626. She clung to debris in the Indian Ocean for nine hours, despite being only 12, an inexperienced swimmer, and without a life jacket. She was finally rescued and treated for her injuries at a hospital in France. Even after being informed of the crash, she was in shock, believing at first that she had simply fallen out due to pressing her head too hard against the window.
Anette Herfkens (1992)
Anette Herfkens was the sole survivor of a plane crash in Vietnam in 1992. She spent eight days alone in the jungle. She recalls how the trauma changed her, and she shared in an interview that the plane was small with only 25 passengers and six crew members. Initially refusing to board due to claustrophobia, her fiancé calmed her with the false assurance of a 20-minute flight. After 40 minutes, the descent began rapidly, and as her partner glanced at her, he remarked, 'I don't like this.' Awakening to the sounds of the Vietnamese jungle through a jagged hole in the fuselage, with a stranger lying dead overhead and her deceased fiancé smiling, she felt it was a moment to fight or flee, choosing survival.
Vesna Vulović (1972)
On January 26, 1972, a plane en route from Stockholm to Belgrade crashed from an altitude of 33,000 feet. Remarkably, flight attendant Vesna Vulović survived the fall, setting a record for the highest fall without a parachute, which stands unbroken today. The plane's fuselage had separated, crashing in a dense forested area in Czechoslovakia. She was trapped in the food cart within the plane's midsection, which landed miraculously on thick snow. Vesna sustained spinal injuries and multiple fractures, remaining in a coma for several days.
Juliane Koepcke (1971)
On the day before Christmas in 1971, lightning struck LANSA Flight over Peru, causing an explosion. Juliane Koepcke, one of the 92 onboard, found herself still strapped to her seat but two miles from the wreckage — the sole survivor. At 17, she recalls her last words from her mother beside her, 'This is the end, it's over.' Juliane fell into the Amazon rainforest, enduring ten days battling mosquitoes and hunger before swimming across a large river. A passing boatman eventually rescued her.
