One of the two people to survive a plane crash in Pakistan that killed 97 people has described jumping from the burning wreckage of the aircraft after it hurtled into a residential neighbourhood.
The Pakistan International Airlines plane came down among houses on Friday afternoon after both engines failed as it approached Karachi airport, the airline said.Its wings sliced through rooftops, sending flames and plumes of smoke into the air as it crashed onto a street, sparking a rescue operation that lasted into the night.
"There were cries of children, adults and elderly. The cries were everywhere and everybody was trying to survive. I undid my seat belt and I saw some light and tried to walk towards it. Then I jumped out."The airline named the other survivor as the president of the Bank of Punjab, Zafar Masud. The pilot made a desperate mayday call after announcing"we have lost engines", according to an audio recording confirmed by the airline."Technically, operationally everything was in place," he said, promising an investigation.
The crash sent plumes of smoke were into the air as rescue workers and residents searched the debris for people.Residents were the first to sift through the charred and twisted wreckage strewn in search of survivors, with witnesses reporting the cries of a man hanging from the plane's emergency exit door.
"I was coming from the mosque when I saw the plane tilting on one side. It was so low that the walls of my house were trembling," said 14-year-old Hassan.
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