London: On being told that there was not enough room for them on their flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Barry and Izzy Sim were understandably angry. Little did they know that the airline staff at whom they were complaining had just saved their lives.

The couple, from Scotland, were booked on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 but were told at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport at the last minute that there were not enough seats for them and their baby on the aircraft. Instead, they were offered seats on a later flight to Malaysia with the Dutch airline KLM - a move about which they had severe reservations.

"We are very loyal to Malaysia Airlines and we always want to fly with Malaysia Airlines," Mrs Sim told the BBC. She added that her husband usually disliked flying with KLM. "But, do you know what, at this moment we are so glad to be on that KLM flight rather than that Malaysia Airlines flight."

The couple spoke of the "sick feeling" they experienced on hearing the news that MH17 had crashed in Ukraine, killing all 295 people on board.

"You get this sick feeling in the pit of your stomach," said Mr Sim. "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'."

Up to 10 British passengers were last night feared to be among the dead, as well as a reported 23 American passengers and at least four French nationals. Mr and Mrs Sim admitted they had doubts about boarding the KLM aircraft given the fate of their intended flight.

"In my mind lightning never strikes twice in the same place so I am still philosophical that you get on the flight and you go about your life," said Mr Sim. He added: "I know my wife doesn't feel like that. Probably the last thing she wants to do now is fly, especially to Kuala Lumpur."

Several disturbing photographs showed bodies on the ground at the crash scene, near the rebel-held eastern Ukraine village of Grabovo. Documents were also recovered from the dead, including one passport that showed the photo of a 13-year-old Dutch girl. Images also included piles of suitcases and bags at the crash scene. The upper floor of Schiphol airport was closed off to give privacy to family and friends of MH17 passengers. Clutching the side of an escalator for support, one man wept after finding out the fate of his relation.

At Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where flight MH17 had been due to land shortly after 6am local time today (Friday), women wept into tissues as they waited for information. "She is my daughter. We pray that she is safe," said Sharom Ibrahim of Shazana Mohamed Salleh, a stewardess on the flight, before emotion overcame her.

Only 131 days ago, Mohd Salleh Samsudin, 54, whose stewardess daughter Nur Shazana was also believed to have been on MH17, had found out that his friend's brother, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, was piloting MH370 which vanished on March 8.

"We are not over that tragedy yet, and this happens," he said at his home in Persiaran Mayang Pasir, Penang. With his wife, Sharom, 57, by his side, he said they found out about the MH17 disaster when his daughter's friend called from the US to tell them that she was on the flight. He added that Malaysia Airlines had not confirmed that she was on the plane. "They [Malaysia Airlines] asked us to stay in Penang first," he said.

Sharom could not speak much as she was overcome with emotion, except to say that Nur Shazana was the eldest of four children. He added that it had always been Nur Shazana's dream to be an air stewardess and travel the world. "She went through so many interviews to finally land this job," he said.