‘There must have been somebody watching over us’: British family cheated death on MH17 by being bumped off flight when they arrived at check-in

Barry and Izzy Sim planned to fly to Kuala Lumpur with their young baby

But were told at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport that the flight was too full

Family switched to a later flight, just hours before MH17 was shot down

Nine British passengers have been confirmed among the 298 killed



A British family cheated death on Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 after they were bumped off the doomed plane when they arrived at check-in.



Barry and Izzy Sim were planning to travel to Kuala Lumpur with their young baby but were told by staff at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport that there were not enough seats on the plane.



Mrs Sim said that there 'must have been someone watching over' them as they were switched to a later KLM flight - just hours before MH17 was shot down in an 'act of terrorism'.

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Escape: Barry and Izzy Sim were due to fly on doomed Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 with their young baby but were bumped off after being told that there were not enough seats

Doomed: Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 taking off from Schiphol airport today. Barry and Izzy Sim were due to be on the flight with their young baby

They were due to board the Boeing 777 aircraft which left Schiphol airport at lunchtime today. Just hours later it exploded into flames as it was hit over territory in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian rebels . All 283 passengers and 15 crew on board were killed.

Nine British passengers have been confirmed as among the dead.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph about his reaction to the crash, Mr Sim, from Scotland, said: 'You get this sick feeling in the pit of your stomach... We started getting butterflies. Your heartbeat starts going.'

Mrs Sim added: 'There must have been someone watching over us and saying "you must not get on that flight".'

The couple, who described themselves as loyal customers of Malaysian Airlines, said that they were 'so glad' not to have been put on the plane.



Mr Sim told the Daily Telegraph he now felt 'philosophical' about what had happened and believed that the couple should take the KLM flight.



Tribute: A woman lights a candle in front of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kiev on Thursday night to commemorate passengers of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17

In memory: A young girl places her head on a teddy bear as people light candles and place flowers in front of the Dutch Embassy in Kiev

Anguish: A man sobs as he leaves Schiphol airport on a bus provided for the families of passengers travelling on MH17. Relatives gathered at airports in Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur

He added that his wife does not feel the same way as she is wary of the danger of another crash.

On Thursday airlines were advised to cease flights over the region – and faced questions as to why commercial jets had been flying over what is effectively a war zone.



Last night there was speculation that flight MH17 had taken a short-cut across the disputed region of eastern Ukraine to save fuel.

Dutch authorities have said that at least nine Britons, 154 Dutch, 27 Australians were among the dead. The nationalities of 41 people on board have not been confirmed.



Earlier it was feared that 23 Americans had perished based on a Reuters report, but there has been no confirmation of any U.S. deaths since then from the State Department.

Airliner downed: Assault rifles in hand, four pro-Russian separatists survey the smouldering wreckage of a passenger jet destroyed by a missile in war-torn Ukraine

Crash site: Rescue workers inspect the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane which was shot down today above Ukraine, killed all 298 people on board

Laying the blame: The Ukrainian authorities laid the blame for the attack on the rebels by denying any responsibility for the missile launch, with President Petro Poroshenko called the downing an act of terrorism

In April, the International Civil Aviation Organisation advised carriers to consider alternative routes after outlining ‘the possible existence of serious risks to the safety of international civil flights’.



On Monday, Eurocontrol – the body that coordinates all traffic across European airspace – sent out an official note to airmen, known as a Notam, repeating the warning and saying it ‘strongly advises’ avoiding the airspace.



But many carriers continued to use the route because it was shorter and therefore cheaper.