Plane crash survivor recalls the horror

MANGALORE - “It was drizzling but the plane appeared on course for landing. Soon after the aircraft touched the runway, I heard a sound and smoke started comming in the plane. Soon there was fire and all hell broke loose,” said Ummar Farooq, one of the survivors of the Air India Express flight from Dubai which caught fire as it overshot the runway and fell into a gorge Saturday morning.

There were 160 passengers and six crew on the IX 812, according to an Air India spokesperson.

“A crack appeared near where I was sitting and I jumped out. Two or three people sitting behind me also jumped out. I am hurt in my knees and suffered burns on my hands and face,” Farooq, being treated at a hospital here, said.

He said as he ran away from the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, flames engulfed it.

Doctors treating him said Farooq had suffered 10 percent burns on his hands and face.