There’s no guilt in a simple twist of fate

Amid the tragedy of flight MH17, blown out of the sky with 298 souls on board, comes a remarkable story of a couple and their baby who cheated death.

Scots Barry and Izzy Sim were upset when they weren’t allowed on the doomed jet as it was overbooked. They managed to get on another flight to Kuala Lumpur with their baby.

Can you imagine how they must be feeling after the news broke that the plane had been destroyed and everyone on board killed?

Barry said: “Someone must have been watching over us.”

Along with the sheer relief at having dodged a bullet, people in similar situations often suffer from survivor’s guilt. They question why they were spared and whether it was luck or fate.

Those who are religious can believe it was their God who saved them, perhaps for a higher purpose. However you look at it, such a narrow escape would definitely change you forever.

I’m sure Barry and Izzy will have lots of “why us?” moments and bless the mix up that saved them and their child. I remember similar stories in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist atrocity when the Twin Towers in New York were destroyed.

So many people who missed their bus or were late for work that day found themselves spared from almost certain death. A simple twist of fate can make the difference between life and death.

This latest atrocity has been utterly shocking and sickening. It has caused so much pain to those who have lost people they love and also struck terror into many people travelling by plane who now feel vulnerable and unsafe.

Those responsible are guilty of mass murder and must be found and made to pay for an act that has shocked us all.