Only two survivors from Pakistan air disaster
23 May, 2020
A day after a Pakistan Airlines passenger plane crashed right into a Karachi neighbourhood, authorities said there have been two survivors and 97 victims in the disaster. The bodies of the passengers and crew killed were recovered from the site nearby the city's airport, the Sindh Health Ministry said.
The rescue procedure following Friday's crash ended in the first hours of Saturday.
Survivors told horrific tales of bodies landing on the cars. Raja Amjad was out for a day drive when he was blindsided by a body that landed on his car.
As Amjad jumped from his vehicle, he looked overhead to see another passenger still alive and dangling from the plane's emergency exit, calling for help.
"He was alive. He was speaking. He asked me to save him. I tried to pull him out, but his legs were badly stuck in the emergency door," Amjad told AFP, saying he called the emergency services.
The aircraft's wings sliced through roofs as the fuselage smashed into pieces, as the fire from the crash spread to close by homes close to the bustling port city's airport.
Rescue personnel arrived immediately and along with residents began combing through the debris looking for survivors as firefighters tried to extinguish the flames fed by the Airbus A320's jet fuel.
"I heard a blast. Immediately I ran outside. There have been clouds of smoke. There is fire. The fire erupted on the top of a residence," said resident Najeeb Ur Rehman.
The alleyway at the centre of the crash was littered with debris from bits of the plane's cabin along with personal goods from luggage, that have been scattered across vehicles and motorbikes parked before homes.
Sarfraz Ahmed, a firefighter at the crash site, said several bodies still had their seatbelts fastened while some were wearing oxygen masks, according to some other rescue official at the scene.
After spending hours working in the scorching heat, rescuers and security forces paused briefly for some minutes to break their Ramadan fasts because they sipped water and nibbled on fruit at night while the call to prayer blared before heading back again to the crash site.
As night fell over the neighbourhood, cranes hoisted lights over the scene allowing rescue teams to continue combing through the wreckage.
The crash comes as Pakistanis in the united states are getting ready to celebrate the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr -- a time when families gather and feast for days after per month of fasting.
"This Eid had already become meaningless as a result of coronavirus, however now it has turned into a tragedy for all those, not only the relatives of the victims," said Mudassar Ahmed, whose home was just blocks from the crash site.
Friday was a public holiday in Pakistan kickstarting a mass migration of folks travelling back to their homes in cities and villages for Eid, with many slated to see extended family for the very first time in months following lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.
Commercial flights had resumed simply a few days ago, after planes were grounded throughout a lockdown.
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