She was to take the doomed Air India flight, but a 10-minute delay saved her life

Traffic congestion, which is quite common in any Indian city, turned out to be a blessing in disguise on Thursday for Bohomi Chauhan.

The Bharuch resident had a terrifying near-death experience but escaped after she missed her crucial London-bound flight, NDTV reports.

The Air India flight AI 171, which Bhoomi was scheduled to fly on, had crashed seconds after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at around 1:30pm. Only one of the 242 passengers and crew members on board survived.

" I was getting ready to step out of the airport when I learnt about the crash. I began shivering. My legs started trembling. I felt numb for quite some time," Bhoomi said after she missed the doomed flight.

She was scheduled to board the flight to London, where she lives with her husband. She was visiting India after two years and was on a holiday.

Bhoomi, however, arrived at the Ahmedabad airport 10 minutes late, after getting stuck in the traffic.

"The flight was scheduled to take off at 1:10pm. I was not allowed to board the aircraft and was really upset," she said. "I had reached the airport exit when I learnt the plane had crashed. My Ganpati ji saved me."

Bhoomi's mother said she had left her child behind at home and was supposed to fly alone. "We thank God for protecting my daughter. She left her child with me, and it's all because of God's blessings; because of that child, she is with me. By God's grace she returned home safely," she said.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British-Indian, was the only person onboard the ill-fated aircraft who survived. The remaining people - 239 passengers, two pilots and 10 crew members - were killed in the crash.