Jet manager Nidhi Chaphekar becomes face of Brussels bomb tragedy - the story behind her viral photo

Nidhi Chaphekar's photo that shows her sitting in a daze, in her torn yellow jacket, just after the twin blasts on Tuesday, was splashed across the world. Pic by AP/Ketevan Kardava

March 24, 2016, NewsCrunch

Jet Airways in-flight manager Nidhi Chaphekar, 41, has become the face of Brussels bomb blasts.

Nidhi's photo that shows her sitting in a daze, in her torn yellow jacket, just after the twin blasts on Tuesday, was splashed across the world.

The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Guardian, Der Standard, Folha de S. Paulo, Le Journal de Québec, Times of India and other papers had Nidhi's photo on their front pages.
Nidhi had flown to Brussels a day earlier and was preparing to fly out, when the suicide bombers struck.

Time has a report on how a Brussels-based journalist Ketevan Kardava took Nidhi's photo amidst the chaos that followed the blasts.

Ketevan Kardava, a special correspondent for the Georgian Public Broadcaster network, was on a routine assignment when the first suicide bomber detonated his explosive jacket.

Standing amidst the scattered bodies of victims and 'dozens of people without legs, lying in blood,' Kardava says her first instinct was to look down at her own legs.

“I couldn’t believe I still had my legs. I was in a state of shock,” she notes.

The second explosion followed and that made everyone run for their lives. Kardava also wanted to run but felt it was her duty to take photos to show the world what was going on.

She spotted a woman in a yellow jacket and took her photo.

 “She was in shock, speechless. There was no crying, no shooting. She was only looking around with fear.” Kardava recalls.

Kardava did not stop to ask Nidhi's name and moved on to photograph other victims.

Ketevan Kardava, a special correspondent for the Georgian Public Broadcaster network, who took Nidhi Chaphekar's photo