It was a miraculous escape for eight passengers onboard the ill-fated Air India flight which crashed in Mangalore on Saturday morning as they managed to jump out of the aircraft soon after it hit the ground.
While some of the survivors managed to jump out of the Boeing 737-800 and reach a nearby road, others jumped into a pit to evade the massive fire engulfing the aircraft.
Some of them were helped by people, including auto-rickshaw drivers and bikers to reach hospital. "I can't believe I survived the crash," said Pradeep reliving the moments when the plane hit the ground after it overshot the runway.
"There were vibrations before the plane crashed... as soon as it hit the ground, I managed to get out and jump into a pit. There was smoke all over as the plane caught fire. After ten minutes, there was an explosion," he said.
According to most of the survivors, the fuselage of the aircraft had split into two. Abdul Puthur, another survivor, said he, along with two others, managed to get out of the mangled remains of the aircraft from an opening on the left side. "It all happened within a few seconds," he said.
Another passenger Umar Farooq claimed the plane lost control while landing due to a tyre burst. "The plane overshot the runway only to stop inside a forest area...it burst into flames," he said.
