CHEATING DEATH TWICE

Over the past four months, De Jonge has avoided two international aviation tragedies in what amount to a couple of extraordinary near misses for the 29-year-old.

The Dutchman has to travel around the world to compete for Malaysia’s Terengganu cycling team, but, incredibly, he managed to avoid being on either of the two flights which ended so badly.

De Jonge told Dutch public broadcaster RTV Oost that he had been due to travel on flight MH17, the Boeing 777 that was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday killing all of the almost 300 passengers on board.

However, he elaborated that he decided to swap flights at the last minute after discovering that travelling via Frankfurt in Germany would prove to be a cheaper alternative.

He tweeted a link to a Dutch article about the MH17 disaster, which has been translated as, “Had I departed today, then…”

Remarkably, De Jonge had also been planning to join flight MH370, the Malaysia jet which vanished on March 8 and which remains missing, presumed in the Indian Ocean, as he went on to reveal in the interview with the local broadcaster.He had been due to compete in a race in Taiwan, according to Spanish newspaper Marca, but decided to take a different flight an hour earlier, without the stopover in Beijing, China.

“I could have taken that one just as easily,” De Jonge said in his interview with RTV Oost, in which he said he actually spoke to other passengers waiting to board MH370 before changing his plans.

“It’s inconceivable. I am very sorry for the passengers and their families, yet I am very pleased I’m unharmed.”

The professional cyclist said he has been “overwhelmed” by the international response to his story after he hinted at his close calls on social media.

“What has happened is terrible, so many victims, that’s a horrible thing,” he said. “I have my story and I would like to leave it at that… my story is ultimately nothing compared to the misery so many people have suffered.”

In a statement on his website, De Jonge said he would not be giving any further interviews out of respect for those who died in both tragedies and said that he still plans to fly despite his experiences.

“You should try not to worry too much because then you won’t get anywhere,” he told RTV Oost.

“I have been lucky twice, this will be the third time as well.”