Some may call it serendipity , others divine intervention . Either way , circumstances prevented two families from boarding doomed AirAsia Flight QZ8501 . In one case , it was missed emails . In another , an illness in the family . As a result , 15 people -- seven of them children -- are alive and well . 'Truly a miracle ' It was no stroke of luck but an act of God that her father caught hepatitis , said Inge Goreti Ferdiningsih , because it made her family cancel their tickets on the AirAsia flight a day before it took off . `` We are extremely grateful , and God is really great , '' she said . `` I believe that God is saving and protecting us , and this is truly a miracle . '' Inge Goreti booked the family vacation nine months earlier . Her father was n't booked on the trip , and her younger sister was staying by his side . So , Inge Goreti could still have gone , with her husband and three children . 'Feeling in my heart ' The bags stood packed and ready , and the family was full of anticipation for the Singapore vacation . Christopher 10 , Nadine , 7 , and Felix , 5 , were psyched about taking a local ship cruise , splashing at a water park and watching animals perform at Sea World . But then Inge Goreti 's sister called from a hospital , where she had taken their father after he complained of stomach pains . The diagnosis : hepatitis . The news tugged at her . `` I had this feeling in my heart that I wanted to be with my dad , '' Inge Goreti said . So , she called off the trip Saturday , a day before the flight . Christopher had a hard time accepting it . He was so looking forward to the trip and became very upset , she said . 'We were late ' An aversion to phone messages may have spared another family . Christianawati was going to ring in the New Year in Singapore with her family and her brother 's family , she told a French news agency . Ten were traveling in all . But her brother forgot to check messages from AirAsia telling them that the flight was leaving two hours before the original departure time . `` They emailed and called us on December 15 and 16 to inform us , but we missed those calls , '' Christianawati , who goes by one name , told Agence France-Presse . `` So we arrived at the airport to check in for the 7:30 a.m. flight but were told our flights had been rescheduled to 5:30 a.m. , and we were late . Of course we were angry , '' she said . Some family members pulled up in their car just in time to see the last passengers whisk past them into the boarding lounge , The Sydney Morning Herald reported . But Christianawati 's family was traveling in two cars , and one was lagging behind . They just missed the flight . Then they heard the news . `` Maybe it is all God 's plan that my family and I were not on the flight , '' Christianawati said . `` It was a blessing in disguise . '' 'Broke down and cried ' Early Sunday , at Inge Goreti 's home , the phone rang -- a few times . `` We received calls from relatives regarding the plane that lost contact , '' Inge Goreti said . `` We all broke down and cried . '' Sunday evening , the family went to church to give thanks . But mixed with Inge Goreti 's tears of relief have been tears of sadness . She recognized names on Flight QZ8501 's passenger manifest , she said . Friends and colleagues were on board .
It 's an act of God that her brother got hepatitis , says woman who canceled her family 's flight . Her brother forget to check in , and it made their family miss the plane , another says . Seven ##teen of the two families who did not board QZ8501 are children . Family members break down into tears when they hear the news of the missing children .