Airlifted back home, stranded passengers recall horror at Brussels

Two hundred and forty two passengers including 28 Jet Airways crew members stranded in Brussels following the terror attacks on its airport and metro station on Tuesday, were brought back home yesterday.

Of the 242 passengers 69 were Mumbaikars who arrived at the city airport through a Jet Airways flight 9W 1229 (Amsterdam-Delhi-Mumbai ) at 9.30 am after dropping the rest in Delhi at 5.30 am.

Relatives and friends of the passengers gathered at the terminal way before the flight landed.

Prasad Patil, a resident of Panvel had a connecting flight from Brussels to Mumbai when the explosions were heard.

Prasad had completed his one year degree course in hotel management in US and was returning via Brussels. He was at the other end of Brussels airport when the explosions occurred. Later, the military took them out and provided accommodation.

Similarly Afsha Rajquotwala who was returning home after seeing her aunt, was seated at the arrivals section when the blasts took place. Afshah did not hear the blasts as she was talking to her father but when she saw people running madly over the airport in terror, when she immediately got out of the terminal.

The 22-year-old Bandra resident who spent the night in a hotel near the airport and was connected with the airline officials through Twitter.

Another passenger, Jaideep Digambar Karande (30) was coming back to Pune after completing his hotel management course in Kentucky via a connected flight at Brussels. Precisely 10 minutes after he landed in Brussels, loud explosions were heard chaos gripped the airport.

Mr Digambar feels that his son had been re-born today.

A few others said that the scene at the airport was so scary that no one understood what had really happened and only after the military arrived was there some sign of relief.