Bristol student's ‘miracle' of missing doomed Air India flight
A student has described the 'miracle' of missing the Air India flight that crashed this week because she was stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the airport.
Bhoomi Chauhan, 28, was turned away by airline staff at Ahmedabad airport as she prepared to return to her home in Bristol, where she lives with her husband. The business administration student said she pleaded to be allowed on to the flight.
'I am completely devastated after hearing about the loss [of lives]. My body is literally shivering,' she said. 'My mind is totally blank now after hearing all that has happened.'
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Chauhan said she had been frustrated with the driver for the delay in arriving at the airport following a 125-mile journey. 'Just because of those ten minutes, I could not board the flight,' she said.
She told the BBC: 'We left the airport and stood at a place to drink tea and after a while, before leaving … we were talking to the travel agent about how to get a refund for the ticket. There, I got a call that the plane had gone down. This is totally a miracle for me.'
Chauhan said she was driven from the city of Ankleshwar but was held up in Ahmedabad's city centre traffic. She arrived at the airport at 12:20pm, ten minutes after boarding was due to commence. She had already checked in online and was allocated seat 36G.
'The flight was scheduled to take off at 1:10pm. The boarding procedure was over at 12:10pm and I reached at 12.20pm,' she told NDTV.
'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 added: 'When I missed the flight, I was dejected. Only thing that I had in mind was, 'If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane',' she said. 'I requested airline staff to allow me inside as I am only ten minutes [late]. I told them that I am the last passenger and so please allow me to board the plane, but they did not.'
She told local media: 'When I came to know that the flight had crashed, I went totally numb. I thank my mother Goddess that I am safe, but the incident is absolutely terrifying.'
Chauhan was in India to visit her parents for the first time in two years.
Her mother, who was not named, said: '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.'
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