Female passenger 'still shivering' after missing Air India flight by 'just 10 minutes' due to traffic
A woman who missed the ill-fated Air India flight by 'just 10 minutes' has said she's 'still shivering' after traffic delays saved her life.
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Bhoomi Chauhan, an Ahmedabad resident, was travelling to Sardar Vallabhbhai Airport on Thursday morning when she found herself stuck in traffic.
Booked onto doomed flight AI-171, bumper-to-bumper traffic saw her arrive at the airport 10 minutes late, meaning she was unable to board her flight.
"I was getting ready to step out of the airport when I learnt about the crash," Ms Chauhan revealed.
Explaining that her "mind was numb" following the realisation that all on board had likely perished, she described how sheI" began shivering".
"My legs started trembling. I felt numb for quite some time," Bhoomi added.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner plummeted to the ground in the densely populated area of Meghani shortly after take-off, erupting in a fireball at around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST).
The crash killed 241 passengers on board, with a sole survivor, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, emerging from the wreckage.
Ms Chauhan revealed she was returning to London, where she lives with her husband, after a holiday in India - having not visited for two years.
"We arrived at the check-in gate 10 minutes late, but they didn't allow me, and I returned," she said after missing her flight.
"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 added to local news outlet ANI.
"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 explained.
"I got late because I was stuck in traffic. I was upset [after being denied boarding] and reached the airport exit when I learnt the plane had crashed. My Ganpati ji saved me," she added.
"They said that it would delay the flight further. I was late because of traffic in the Ahmedabad city area. When I came to know that the flight had crashed, I was totally numb.
" I thank my mother Goddess that I am safe, but the incident is absolutely terrifying."
It comes as British survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, described how the 'lights started flickering' before the plane crashed and revealed the horrific scenes he saw as he walked out mostly unscathed past other people as they lay dying.
He told the Hindustan Times: "When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air.
"Suddenly, the lights started flickering - green and white - then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there."