Ahmedabad : Bhoomi Chauhan, a London-based woman visiting India after two years, a 10-minute delay became the line between life and death. Chauhan was scheduled to fly on Air India Flight AI-171 — the ill-fated Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon, killing more than 200 people. But she never made it onto the plane.
“I am thankful to God. My Ganpati Bappa saved me,” Bhoomi said, her voice shaking as she stood outside her family home in Bharuch, still trying to process what had happened. “My body is literally shivering. I am not being able to talk. My mind is totally blank now after hearing all that has happened.”
On the day of the flight, Bhoomi was on her way to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport when she got caught in traffic. She arrived at the terminal just minutes before the scheduled departure — frantic, breathless, and without a printed copy of her boarding pass.
“I missed the flight by only 10 minutes,” she recounted, her eyes welling up. “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 Air India Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, never made it far. Barely 625 feet into its climb, the aircraft went into a sudden descent and exploded into flames as it crashed into a residential complex near a medical college. Among the dead were passengers, crew, and several people on the ground. The final death toll is still rising, with over 200 bodies recovered so far.
Chauhan had come to India for a brief vacation — her first trip home in two years. She was scheduled to return to London alone, where her husband awaited her. “I had been looking forward to this trip, to see family, to breathe my country’s air again. I never thought leaving would be so… final for so many others.”
“I’m completely devastated after hearing about the loss. It could have been me. It should have been me,” she whispered. “But for some reason, God, Ganpati Bappa, whatever it was… saved me.”
The crash is being described as one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India’s history and the worst involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft, just 12 years old, had arrived from Delhi earlier that day.
One man, 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was pulled alive from the smouldering wreckage. Seated in 11A, he is now undergoing treatment for severe injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet at Civil Hospital in Asarwa. He is the sole known survivor.
As Bhoomi tries to return to normal life, she says she’s haunted by what could have been. “When I saw the news… the same flight number, the same airport, the same destination… My legs gave way. My hands started shaking. My mother just held me and cried.”
There is grief in her voice, but also guilt — the kind that often shadows those who narrowly escape tragedy. “I don’t know why I was spared. But I’ll never forget those who weren’t.”
Of the 242 people on board the ill-fated Air India flight, including 12 airline staff—2 pilots and 10 cabin crew commanded by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar—241 tragically lost their lives, among them former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. The sole survivor, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, seated in 11A, was returning to London after a visit to Gujarat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the crash as “heartbreaking beyond words” and confirmed he is coordinating with ministers and authorities to provide assistance to those affected.
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