Chinese plane crash survivors recall horror

Yichun (China), Aug 26(ANI): Survivors from the plane crash in China, which killed 42 passengers of the 96 on board on Tuesday, have described scenes of horror as they escaped the nation's worst air disaster since 2004.

The plane, a Henan Airlines Embraer E-190 on a flight from Harbin to Yichun, had overshot the runway while landing in thick fog at Lindun Airport, and burst into flames.

The 100-seat Brazilian-made aircraft was almost completely destroyed by the fire, with only the tail section remaining intact.

"I was stuck on the seat, struggling with the belt. The cabin was filled with smoke. I could not breathe. But at last, I managed to free myself from the belt," The China Daily quoted Gao Jianchun, who was seated in the 20th row with two colleagues, as saying.

"When I ran to a window, I found my colleagues lying there, choked to death by the smoke," he added.

Jianchun further said that he escaped when he saw a gap in the fuselage and jumped out.

"When I looked out the window, I couldn't see anything. There were no lights at all," he added.

Another survivor said that the plane had bounced heavily on the ground, and "then broke in two".

"When the plane landed, I felt a strong jolt, and then the plane seemed to begin to come apart," the survivor told CCTV from his hospital bed.

"I tried to escape, but there was no way out ahead or behind. Then we saw the fuselage had cracked and ran through it to escape," he added.

Investigations are underway to find the cause of the crash.

Meanwhile, experts from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) have ruled out sabotage.

The crash is the first major incident by a domestic Chinese airline since November 2004, when a China Eastern flight plunged into a frozen lake in Baotou, killing all 53 on board and two on the ground. (ANI)