Sometimes being late can be a blessing! A Greek man, who was supposed to be on board the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing flight ET302, which crashed on Sunday, had reached the departure gate just two minutes after it was closed. The man missed the flight and protested at the airport for not letting him in but later termed the day as 'lucky' as he was saved from the fateful plane crash. He said if he had boarded, he would have been the 150th passenger on the Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing plane that crashed killing all 157 people on board. Ethiopian Airlines ET 302 Flight Crashes en Route to Kenya, Killing All 157 Passengers on Board. 

The Greek man, identified as Antonis Mavropoulos, took to Facebook to share his experience. "I was mad because nobody helped me to reach the gate on time," Antonis Mavropoulos said in a Facebook post entitled "My lucky day" in which he includes a photo of his ticket. According to Athens News Agency, Mavropoulos, who is the president of the International Solid Waste Association, a non-profit organization, was travelling to Nairobi to attend the annual assembly of the UN Environment Programme. China Grounds Boeing 737 Max 8 Jets After Aircraft Crash Leaves 157 Dead. 

Take a Look at his Facebook Post:

In his Facebook post, the man said he was taken to the airport police station for creating a chaos at the airport. The man said that the officer told him not to protest but to pray to God because he was the only passenger that didn't board the ET 302 flight that was lost. Mavropoulos was in a state of shock when he realized that he was the only passenger booked onto the doomed flight who wasn't on board.

On Sunday, four Indians among 157 passengers including eight crew members were killed in Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed soon after take-off in the south-east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The deceased were from 35 countries. Other passengers included 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight Italians, eight Chinese citizens, eight Americans, seven British citizens, seven French citizens, six Egyptians, five Dutch citizens, four people from Slovakia, three Austrians, three Swedes, three Russians, two Moroccans, two Spaniards, two Poles and two Israelis, according to a list provided by the Ethiopian Airlines on Twitter.

The Boeing 737 took off from Bole International Airport at 8:38 am after which no contact was established with the flight after 8:44 am. Investigations have been launched to ascertain the cause behind the crash.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 11, 2019 12:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).