A woman who was meant to board the doomed Air India plane that crash landed has spoken of her luck after she narrowly avoided the tragedy when she missed her flight by 10 minutes.
Bhoomi Chauhan was on her way to Sardar Vallabhbhai Airport, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to catch the Air India flight AI-171 to London on Thursday morning.
But due to being stuck in heavy traffic, she reached the airport 10 minutes later and ultimately ended up missing her flight.
Chauhan, a resident of Ahmedabad, told local media that upon receiving information of the devastating crash just moments after she was turned away from the boarding gates, she ‘shivered badly and her legs started shaking’.
The Gatwick-bound plane carrying 242 passengers, including 53 British nationals, crashed just moments after take-off.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner careened back down to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST).
Terrifying CCTV footage shows the plane appear to lose control before it starts rapidly descending with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.
Chauhan said her ‘mind went numb’ after she learned of the incident before she returned home. She had been visiting India for a holiday while her husband remained home in London.
Bhoomi Chauhan was on her way to Sardar Vallabhbhai Airport, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to catch the Air India flight AI-171 to London on Thursday morning
A video posted to social media appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed
The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip
It comes after a family-of-three, a wellness influencer couple, and an award-winning hotel manager travelling with his wife and two children were reported as among the Brits who were on board the doomed Air India plane.
Aviation experts say that the aircraft may have suddenly lost power ‘at the most critical phase of flight’ after takeoff.
All but one person aboard Air India Flight 171 are feared to have died in the tragedy.
MailOnline can reveal that among them were Akeel Nanawaba, Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sarah, Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, Javed Ali Syed, his wife and two children and Raxa Modha, her grandson Rudra and her daughter-in-law Yasha Kamdar.
The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was seated in 11A, is also British and told the Hindustan Times he had lived in London for 20 years.
Akeel Nanawaba, 36, his wife Hannaa Vorajee, 30, and their daughter Sarah, four, were flying home from a five-day family celebration when the Dreamliner crashed.
The successful young couple ran a global recruitment agency with offices in Ahmedabad and Gloucester.
Their shocked business partner Shoyeb Khan Nagori told MailOnline: ‘I had dinner with them last night. They were a lovely family and Akeel and his wife were extremely successful people.’
Air India has confirmed that 229 passengers and 12 crew died, adding that the sole survivor is being treated in hospital.
The passengers included 159 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian. Eleven of those on board were children, including two newborns.
This morning, a Gatwick-bound plane carrying 242 passengers, including 53 British nationals, crashed just moments after take-off in from Ahmedabad Airport in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat. Raxa Modha (L) is believed to have died in the tragedy today
Akeel Nanawaba (right), 36, his wife Hannaa Vorajee (left), 30, and their four-year-old daughter Sarah were flying home from a five-day family celebration when the Air India Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off. They are also feared to have died in the crash
Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, 45, (right) and husband Fiongal, 39, live in London, run a wellness and healthy lifestyle company called the Wellness Foundry, and had been in India on holiday. They are also believed to have been on the ill-fated flight
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner careened back down to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST)
The back of Air India flight 171 is pictured at the site after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the crash was ‘absolutely devastating’ and that the investigation will ‘take some time’.
Aviation experts say that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner may have suddenly lost power ‘at the most critical phase of flight’ after takeoff.
The possible causes are believed to include a rapid change in wind or a bird strike leading to a double engine stall.
Officials from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are now at the scene to carry out an analysis of the wreckage and retrieve the stricken jet’s black box.
Videos shows the aircraft rapidly losing altitude – with its nose up – before it hit a building and erupted in a violent explosion.
At first, the plane appears to be descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.
It then briefly disappears from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball suddenly erupts on the horizon.
A huge trail of smoke can subsequently be seen billowing from the crash site.
Other video clips show a huge cloud of black smoke filling the sky as distressed onlookers gather in the streets of the Indian city as chaos unfolds.
Footage taken from inside a hospital circulating on X shows medical staff rushing up and down corridors with stretchers as they prepare to treat passengers.
Shocking images also showed chunks of the plane’s fuselage and tail protruding from a demolished building.
Firefighters at the scene doused the smouldering piles of debris with their hoses as photos and videos taken by horrified residents in Meghani showed a huge plume of thick black smoke emanating from the crash site.
Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India
The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh (pictured), who was seated in 11A, is British and told the Hindustan Times he had lived in London for 20 years
The flight reportedly reached an altitude of just 625 feet before it began to descend, according to flight tracking service Flightradar 24, which declared the plane’s transponder signal dropped just seconds after it left the runway.
‘We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after take off,’ it said.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the plane sent a mayday call moments before the crash.
Air India’s Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran shared a heartfelt statement that read: ‘With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today.
‘It is very disappointing that it is a Dreamliner as it is a state-of-the-art Boeing. We cannot rule out security issues. But this is all speculation on my part.’
‘Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event. At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.
‘We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.’
Gatwick Airport subsequently confirmed the flight that was due to land at 18:25 today had crashed on departure.
