Meet Bhoomi Chauhan, the woman who missed the fateful Air India flight by 10 minutes

Call it a blessing in disguise, but Bhoomi Chauhan, a woman from Gujarat, escaped death by mere minutes.

She was scheduled to board Air India Flight AI171 to London, but missed it by just ten minutes. Moments later, the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board in one of the worst aviation disasters in India’s history.

“I am thankful to God. My Ganpati Bappa saved me,” Bhoomi told News18, standing outside her family home in Bharuch, her voice trembling.

So what happened? Here’s what we know

A narrow escape

On the day of the crash, Bhoomi Chauhan was rushing to board her flight to London when fate intervened in the most unexpected way.

Caught in heavy traffic on her way to Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Bhoomi arrived at the gate just minutes before departure. Frantic and breathless, she was stopped from boarding because she didn’t have a printed copy of her boarding pass.

“The flight was scheduled to take off at 1:10pm. The boarding procedure was over at 12:10pm and I reached at 12.20pm. I had reached the checking-in gate and requested them to allow me to board the flight. I told them I shall clear all the formalities quickly but they did not allow me to proceed,” she told NDTV.

“I missed the flight by only 10 minutes,” she said, tears in her eyes. “I pleaded, but they didn’t allow me to board without the printout. I left the airport around 1:30 p.m. The flight took off around 1:38. It crashed just minutes later. I don’t know how to explain what I’m feeling.”

The London-based passenger, who had been visiting India after two years, was scheduled to return alone to the UK to join her husband.

“I was getting ready to step out of the airport when I learnt about the crash. I began shivering. My legs started trembling. I felt numb for quite some time,” she said. “My mind is totally blank now after hearing all that has happened."

She has now reached her home in Bharuch. Now back home, the weight of what could have been is still sinking in.

Her mother, overwhelmed with emotion, told the news outlet that divine intervention had protected her daughter. “We thank God for protecting my daughter. She left her child with me, and it’s all because of God’s blessings; because of that child, she is with me. By God’s grace, she returned home safely,” she said.

The flight Bhoomi missed, Air India AI171, was being piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a seasoned Line Training Captain with over 8,200 flying hours, and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 hours.

The aircraft departed at 1:39 pm IST from Runway 23 and issued a “Mayday” call within minutes. It soon lost contact with Air Traffic Control and crashed just outside the airport perimeter, claiming 241 lives in a matter of seconds.

Air India plane crash’s lone survivor recalls horror

Amid the overwhelming tragedy of the Air India crash, there was one miraculous exception — a single survivor.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national of Indian origin, was the sole survivor pulled from his seat 11A in the smouldering wreckage of Flight AI171.

“There were bodies all around me, there were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance,” Vishwash told News18, recounting the chaos that unfolded moments after the crash.

Recalling  what happened  in the moments after takeoff, Vishwash said, “Within 30 seconds, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly."

Vishwash is currently receiving treatment at the Civil Hospital in Asarwa, according to Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the hospital to meet him personally.

Vishwash, who grew up in India before moving to the UK, was travelling back home with his brother Ajay, who did not survive the crash.

With input from agencies