The odds of being in a plane crash are roughly one in 1.2 million. The odds of winning the lottery jackpot were recently estimated to be one in 45 million. The odds of both happening in the span of just one week? Well, you do the math.
But that's exactly what happened to one man last week when he survived a plane's crash-landing and then — just six days later — won $1 million in the lottery. Sixty-two-year-old Mohammad Basheer Abdul Khadar was one of 300 passengers aboard Emirates flight EK521 en route from India last Wednesday, when the jet crashed into the runway of Dubai's main airport and then burst into flames. Before he'd embarked on his family vacation to India, Khada had purchased a ticket in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire.
He said surviving the crash — which left 13 injured and one firefighter dead — was undoubtedly the "more precious gift from god," but admitted the lottery win was a nice bonus. "I feel like God gave me a second life when I survived the plane crash, and blessed me with this money to follow all this up by doing good things," Khadar told Gulf News.
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Khadar plans to retire from his job at a Dubai car dealership in December and return to his native India to help children in need.
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