‘The rescue effort was the most wonderful act of humanity I have ever seen’
THE trauma of being inside the crashed aeroplane frantically searching for survivors has been described by one of the heroic rescuers.
Brian Taylor, 78, from Great Moor, was on nearby Waterloo Road with his late brother Roy when they saw the plane come down.
Roy rushed to the police station while Brian raced to the crash site and was one of the first 10 people there.
At incredible personal risk they helped drag people out of the plane before it exploded and a total of 72 passengers and crew were killed.
Brian, now 78 and a dad of 10 with 14 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren, has lived with the effects of that for the last five decades.
He said: “I was one of the first people to get to the scene and it was very, very grim. What we saw was horrendous.
“But the rescue effort was the most wonderful act of humanity I have ever seen. Everyone worked together to help those inside, it was like a shuttle service.
“When we went in people were trapped by seats, the crash impact had thrown everything forward.
“We just did what we could for as long as we could and couldn’t tell if people were dead or alive. But we had to leave, someone must have smelt the fuel and realised the plane was going to explode.
“We could see the people inside at the windows, it was horrendous and still something I think about every day. Sights and smells like that stay with you.”
Brian, who was a lorry driver at the time, and his fellow rescuers were able to climb inside the plane because the impact had made it split in two near the back.
A short time later firefighters arrived at the scene.
The smoke, fumes and heat inside has left him with asthma and bronchitiectasis, which is condition that leaves people more susceptible to infection as their lung hairs have been burnt off.
He has also been left with the mental scars and still thinks of the people he wasn’t able to get out in time. He has spent many years on anti-depressants.
Brian said: “The air crash has affected me both physically and mentally. I was just in shock afterwards.
“I remember a week afterwards there was an invite for people to go to Stockport town hall but I was too upset to go.”