She missed Air India flight due to Ahmedabad traffic jam - now she calls it a blessing from God

The woman, Bhoomi Chauhan, was stuck in traffic and failed to board the AI171 flight.

A resident of Gujarat's Bharuch narrowly escaped death by just 10 minutes when she missed the ill-fated Air India flight that crashed near the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon, claiming the lives of 241 people on board, Air India confirmed post-midnight on Friday, ANI reported.

While speaking to ANI on Friday, Bhoomi Chauhan, recounting her experience, said, "We arrived at the check-in gate 10 minutes late, but they didn't allow me, and I returned. 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."

#WATCH | Bhoomi Chauhan, a resident of Gujarat's Bharuch, missed yesterday's flight, AI-171, which crashed and 241 of 242 on board, including crew members, lost their lives.Bhoomi Chauhan says, "...We arrived at the check-in gate 10 minutes late, but they didn't allow me, and I pic.twitter.com/T1AqU9SSz0

ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2025

Chauhan's mother attributed her daughter's survival to the blessings of the Mother Goddess, telling ANI, "We thank Mother Goddess for protecting my daughter. She left her child with me, and it's all because of the Mother Goddess blessings; because of that child, she is with me..."

Chauhan's father explained that traffic congestion had caused them to arrive late at the airport, and despite their requests, they were not allowed to board the flight. "...We arrived at the airport late because of traffic. We requested, but they didn't allow us. When we came out of the airport, we received the news that the plane had crashed."

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad and reviewed the ground situation, a day after the AI-171 flight bound for London Gatwick crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad International Airport here. The PM arrived in the city this morning and proceeded to the site where the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner -- carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed. He was briefed by officials on the situation.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi and other officials accompanied PM Modi during his visit. PM Modi then proceeded to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to meet with those injured in the mishap.

Upon his arrival in the city today, PM Modi was received by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Ministers Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and CR Paatil.

As per the report, there were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on board the crashed plane. Miraculously, one person, a British national of Indian origin, survived the crash, airline authorities said.

The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours. According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23.

It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC. Immediately after departing Runway 23, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter. A formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the deadly crash of Air India flight 171 that killed 241 people onboard. The government was also constituting a high-level committee of people with expertise in multiple disciplines to examine the crash incident and devise ways to strengthen aviation safety by preventing such incidents in the future, the report added.