PIA plane crash survivor says flight was 'smooth' until it crashed

KARACHI: Muhammad Zubair, who is among the two reported survivors from Friday's plane crash, said he heard "screams" of people as soon as the plane exploded into flames.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-8303 crashed, earlier today, near Karachi's Jinnah International Airport a few moments before landing.

According to the Sindh Health Department, 80 people have died as a result of the unfortunate incident. Meanwhile, according to a list released by the airline, 51 men, 31 women and nine children were aboard the aircraft.

Sharing his account in Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, Zubair said: "I am feeling well so far, but my hands and feet have burned a bit."

"I was coming to Karachi for Eid holidays and the flight left the airport at 1[pm] from Lahore, it was flying fine then. When the pilot announced that we are landing in Karachi and he took the plane a bit down two or three shocks were felt," Zubair said.

The survivor said that the pilot flew it up after which the people started "praying" and for 10-15 minutes the plane was flying in the air.

"After analysing the situation and viewing a place where there was not much rush he announced that he[pilot] was landing the plane but unfortunately it crashed," he said.

“The next moment there was a hard crash and I lost consciousness,” said Zubair, adding that when he came woke up there was ‘smoke everywhere’.

"I could hear screams from all directions. Kids and adults. All I could see was fire. I couldn’t see any people – just hear their screams.

"I opened my seat belt and saw some light – I went towards the light. I had to jump down about 10 feet to get to safety. I was then taken to Jinnah hospital and now I am in Civil hospital."

When asked that did the pilot announce anything after the shocks were felt and what was the duration in between the two landing attempts, he said: "The time duration was in between 10-15 minutes and the plane crashed nearly 2-3 minutes after he announced that the plane was about to land."

"No one [passengers] was aware that the plane about to crash, they were flying the plane in a smooth manner," he said.

Zubair said that there was no disturbance on the flight and that it was smooth until the crash.