IndiGo flight 6E214, operating from Delhi to Srinagar, was rocked by mid-air turbulence amidst a sudden pre-monsoon hailstorm on Wednesday. The aircraft, carrying over 200 people, was left with no choice but to make an unprecedented landing after its nose was was severely damaged by the violent hailstorm.

The Delhi to Srinagar flight ultimately landed safely at Srinagar airport, causing no harm to those onboard, including five Trinamool Congress leaders. This TMC delegation included Derek O’Brien, Manas Bhunia, Sagarika Ghose, Mamata Thakur and Nadimul Haque.

‘Near-death experience’: Turbulence-hit Srinagar flight lands with broken nose

MP & Deputy Leader TMC Sagarika Ghose eventually opened up about the traumatic experience, calling it a “near death experience.” Fearing for her well being at the time risky weather struck their aircraft, she thought her “life was over,” as she added, “People were screaming, praying and panicking.”

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Saluting the pilot for steering the impacted IndiGo flight during such trying times, she said, “Hats off to the pilot who brought us through that. When we landed we saw that the nose of the plane had blown up.”

5 TMC leaders were on board IndiGo flight headed to Srinagar

The five-member TMC delegation was headed to Srinagar, Poonch and Rajouri, according to a previous All India Trinamool Congress SNS announcement. The official visit slated for the dates May 21 to 23 was planned to express solidarity with the people affected by cross-border attacks amid the recent escalation of the India-Pakistan conflict. After the political quintet safely arrived in Srinagar, the official TMC X page shared the positive update alongside a snap of the leaders at the airport.

“Our five-member delegation reached Srinagar today to stand in solidarity with grieving families and offer our heartfelt condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this time of immense tragedy,” read the tweet.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also sounded off the alarm upon realising that the TMC leaders had actually been on board the same flight damaged by the hailstorm. “Just saw some scary turbulence visuals of the Indigo Delhi-Srinagar flight and came across this pic tweeted by @sidhant,” saw TMC RS MP Nadimul Haque, on checking realised their entire delegation headed to Poonch was indeed on the flight,” she wrote on X.

She even praised the pilot for the safe landing, saying “Glad to hear that all the passengers and @sagarikaghose @MdNadimulHaque6 @derekobrienmp, Mamata Thakur and Hon. WB minister Manas Bhuiyan are all fine. The captain of the flight deserves to be honoured for keeping calm despite the storm and safeguarding everyone on the flight.”

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Delhi to Srinagar flight: Turbulence video

As Indians expressed their relief, knowing that all the passengers and crew members were safe and sound despite encountering such a nightmare, videos of flight turbulence went viral on social media. Heart-rending scenes from inside the aircraft captured everyone showing visible signs of distress, as panic consumed the cabin.

As of now, IndiGo has issued several travel advisories for Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Goa, and Chandigarh due to pre-monsoon showers impacting air travel across India. Their latest pinned tweet (at the time of writing) read, “#6ETravelAdvisory: Heavy rain and thunderstorm in #Delhi, #Chandigarh and #Kolkata is impacting flights. We understand weather delays are never easy, we sincerely appreciate your patience. Do check your flight status before heading to the airport.”