All I could see was f ire, says miracle jet crash survivor
A PASSENGER who cheated death in the Pakistan air crash that claimed 97 lives said last night: ‘All I could see was fire.’
Muhammad Zubair, who suffered only minor burns, was one of two survivors of the Airbus 320 disaster in Karachi.
Many of those who died when flight PK8303 crashed trying to land at Jinnah International Airport were travelling to be with family for the Eid festivities at the end of Ramadan.
Mr Zubair, a mechanical engineer, lost consciousness in the crash and said that when he came round: ‘I could hear screams from all directions. Kids and adults. All I could see was fire. I couldn’t see any people, just hear their screams.’
The only other passenger to survive was Zafar Masud, president of the Bank of Punjab, a provincial government spokesman said. Both he and Mr Zubair were sitting towards the front of the plane.
Investigators are now looking into what caused the Pakistan International Airlines plane to crash into a residential area called Model Colony.
It had taken off from the eastern city of Lahore at 1pm and Mr Zubair said it was a ‘smooth flight’ until it violently jerked coming into land almost two hours later. He said the pilot told the 91 passengers and eight crew they were experiencing engine problems and the landing could be ‘troublesome’.
Local media said an air-traffic controller asked the pilot if he was going to carry out a ‘belly landing’ to which he replied: ‘ Mayday, mayday, mayday.’
The jet crashed just days after commercial flights resumed in the country following the coronavirus lockdown. Only 19 bodies have been identified and DNA tests are being conducted so funerals can take place.
All those who died were on the flight but eight people on the ground were injured, including four who remain in hospital.
Investigators are still trying to retrieve the black box recorders but PIA said the plane passed its annual worthiness inspection last November.
The Queen last night sent her condolences to Pakistan. ‘Prince Philip and I have been saddened by the news of the plane crash near Karachi on Friday,’ she wrote. ‘We send our most sincere condolences to you, the families and friends of those who have died, and to the Pakistani people, particularly at the time of Eid.’