Pakistan plane crash survivor describes horror: 'I saw fire everywhere'

Mohammad Zubair, 24, was one of only two survivors from flight PK 8303 from Lahore to Karachi

Police spray water on part of PIA flight PK 8303 in Karachi. AFP

Pakistani security officials stand guard a day after a passenger plane of state run Pakistan International Airlines crashed in a residential area, in Karachi, Pakistan. EPA

A Pakistani security official stands guard a day after a passenger plane of state run Pakistan International Airlines crashed in a residential area, in Karachi. EPA

Heavy machinery gather at the scene of a Pakistan International Airlines crash the day after it occurred in a residential area, in Karachi. EPA

A firefighter sprays water on the wreckage of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft after it crashed in a residential area in Karachi. AFP

Rescue workers spray water on part of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft after it crashed in a residential area in Karachi. AFP

Policemen spray water on the part of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft.

Rescue workers move a body from the site. AFP

An ambulance arrives at the crash site of PIA flight PK 8303. EPA

Rescue workers gather at the site after a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed in a residential neighbourhood in Karachi. AFP

Rescue workers gather at the site after a Pakistan International Airlines flight crashed in a residential neighbourhood in Karachi on May 22, 2020. AFP

Rescue workers and people gather near the site of the crash. AFP

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 district.

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 on a street, sparking a rescue operation that lasted into the night.

Commercial flights in the country resumed only days ago, before the Eid Al Fitr holiday, after planes were grounded during a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic.

“After it hit and I regained consciousness, I saw fire everywhere and no one was visible,” Mohammad Zubair, 24, said from his hospital bed in a video clip circulated on social media.

“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.”

Mr Zubair had suffered burns but was in a stable condition, a health ministry official said.

The airline named the other survivor as the president of the Bank of Punjab, Zafar Masud.

The health ministry for Sindh province, which includes the southern port city of Karachi, on Saturday confirmed that all 97 bodies recovered from the crash site had been on the plane.

At least 19 had been identified so far, while DNA testing on the others was being carried out at the University of Karachi.

A local hospital earlier reported it had received the bodies of people killed on the ground.

A PIA representative said air traffic control lost contact with the plane travelling from Lahore to Karachi shortly after 2.30pm.

The pilot made a desperate mayday call after announcing “we have lost engines”, according to an audio recording confirmed by the airline.

PIA chief executive Arshad Mahmood Malik described the Airbus A320 as one of the safest planes.

“Technically, operationally, everything was in place,” he said, promising an investigation.

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the captain, Sajjad Gull, had been described by the airline as a senior A320 pilot with extensive flight experience.

The plane had first entered service in 2004 and was acquired by PIA a decade later and had logged about 47,100 flight hours, Airbus said in a statement.

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.

Sarfraz Ahmed, a firefighter at the crash site, told AFP that rescuers had pulled bodies from the aircraft still wearing seat belts.

Residents near the scene recounted how the walls of their homes shook before a big explosion erupted as the aircraft slammed into the district.

“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 Hassan, aged 14.

Another resident, Mudassar Ali, said he “heard a big bang and woke up to people calling for the fire brigade”.