The university student arrived just a few minutes after boarding was scheduled to begin, missing her flight by a narrow margin that, in hindsight, turned out to be a blessing.

Bhoomi Chauhan was supposed to be among the 242 people aboard Air India Flight 171 (AI171), which took off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12 en route to London Gatwick. Just minutes after takeoff, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed, killing nearly everyone on board and dozens on the ground.

The 28-year-old student from Bristol, narrowly avoided tragedy because she had been stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on her way to the airport.

Chauhan was frustrated at the time as the delay meant she arrived less than an hour before the scheduled departure, and by then, airline staff had already closed check-in. What felt like a travel nightmare in the moment turned out to be a life-saving twist of fate.

Chauhan had been travelling from Ankleshwar, about 200 kilometers south of Ahmedabad, but got caught in heavy traffic as her car passed through the city centre. She got to the airport at 12:20 p.m. local time, just ten minutes after boarding was supposed to begin.

Although she had already checked in online and had a boarding pass for seat 36G in economy, she was not allowed to complete the process at the airport.

Chauhan recalled pleading with airline staff to let her through, explaining that she was only ten minutes late and could be the final passenger to board. Despite her efforts, they denied her entry to the flight.

“We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration. I was very disappointed,” she narrated. Chauhan, who had been in western India on holiday, was headed back home to the UK, where she lives with her husband and is pursuing a business administration degree.

“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 noted.

After being turned away at the airport, Chauhan and her companions stopped for tea nearby. While there, they began discussing with their travel agent how to go about getting a refund for the missed ticket. It was during that conversation that they first heard about the crash.

The realization of what she narrowly escaped hit her. “This is totally a miracle for me,” she declared. AI171 had departed shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time, and within five minutes, it had gone down, leaving a trail of devastation behind.

The flight AI171 to Gatwick departed as planned on Thursday, 1:30 p.m. but seemed to have trouble climbing and crashed roughly 30 seconds after takeoff. It struck a residential neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of 241 passengers and all 12 crew members.

At least eight people on the ground also lost their lives. Those on board included Indian, British, Portuguese, and Canadian nationals. One passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the crash and received treatment in hospital for his injuries.

Vishwashkumar occupied seat 11A on the plane and survived the collision. Video footage shows him leaving the crash site on foot.

At the Civil Hospital in Asarwa, Vishwash, who has lived in London for 20 years and has a wife and child there, described what happened in the moments after the aircraft lifted off.

“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” he told Hindustan Times. The outlet also posted Vishwash’s plane ticket on their website.

He had been in India for a short visit and was returning to the United Kingdom with his 45-year-old brother, Ajay. The two were seated in different rows on the flight. Vishwash said, “We visited Diu. He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him.”

Vishwash reportedly sustained injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet. After regaining consciousness, he said he stood up, afraid after seeing the surrounding disaster, and ran through debris until someone helped him into an ambulance.

A video shared by India Today NE allegedly shows Vishwash walking away from the wreckage toward an ambulance.

He was slightly limping and talking to the people around him as someone guided him. Additionally, the clip captured voices in the background, including cries from others at the scene.

Moments after emerging from the wreckage, Viswash contacted his family in Britain, according to The New York Times.

Viswash’s younger brother, Nayan Ramesh, 27, told the paper that Viswash made a video call to their father from beside the wreckage. Nayan also shared what Viswash said, “Our plane crashed. I have no idea how I got outside.”

Nayan also recalled that his brother couldn’t find Ajay or any other passengers and was in complete shock. “I don’t know how I am alive,” he quoted Viswash as saying.

At the Ramesh family home in Leicester, England, grief was evident. Mourners stood silently outside while relatives consoled one another indoors.

In India, Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who examined Viswash, reportedly said he was disoriented and had multiple injuries but was no longer in immediate danger.

According to Nayan, the family later spoke with Viswash at the hospital, where staff told him to be on bed rest and temporarily switched off his phone to support his recovery.

Further details emerged through CNN, including accounts from additional family members and hospital officials. Viswash’s cousin, Ajay Valgi, told reporters in Leicester that Ramesh had confirmed he was “fine,” but the family was devastated by the death of his brother and the others who were lost.

Dr. Rajnish Patel, head of surgery at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, told CNN that Viswash was in stable condition. “He has some blood in the images, but he’s not very badly injured. He is very comfortable and under strict observation, no issues,” Rajnish said, adding that he could be discharged within days.

Since Viswash was seated in 11A, an emergency exit row near the plane’s left wing, CNN safety analyst and former U.S. Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector David Soucie looked into this matter. He said he was surprised anyone survived in that section of the plane.

David noted that the seat was situated directly above the wing spar, a heavily reinforced area likely to absorb the force of impact during a crash, making survival above it highly unlikely.

Reflecting the broader reaction, Shivani Raja, member of parliament for Leicester East, described Viswash’s survival as “nothing short of a miracle.” She said she had reached out to the family while choosing to respect their privacy.