Abhilash, the first among people to reach the ill-fated Air India Express plane which met with an accident on Friday, has a heart-breaking tale to narrate.
“I first saw a man who was crying out for help. He was caught under a seat. I pulled his limbs but the hand just came off,” says Abhilash.
A resident of Kondotty airport crossroad, Abhilash heard a huge sound. He could see the airport from his terrace. He wasted no time and gathered his friends and took his pick-up truck to the accident site.
A group of people were already there and the police stopped people at the gate. People could hear wails for help from inside and the people forced their entry through the closed gate.
Abhilash said he found the plane broken in three. A lot of people were writhing in pain inside. A moment of numbness later, Abhilash entered the plane and tried to extricate whoever he could. He could hear people asking him to be wary of COVID. Abhilash said he didn’t want to listen to any of that as lives were in danger, right before his eyes.
Abhilash and friends were able to save people in the mid rows. He said he saw people who had gotten crushed in the impact. The rear of the aircraft seemed to jut out of the hill and the front had come off the main body. It was difficult to get people out of these portions of the aircraft.
Abhilash and his friends could rescue seven people and board them to the pick-up truck. No ambulances had reached the spot till then. They then shifted them to a private hospital in Kondotty. People in the area also took the ill-fated passengers to hospital in their personal cars.
Abilash said it was a day he would never forget in a long time to come.
Relief for family
The family of Rumshad of Iyyancode is in great relief – they managed to live through the ordeal and also escaping relatively safe. Rumshad, 28; wife, Sufaira; and daughter Saidasherin, 4; were on the flight from Dubai. Their relative Ashraf, 36, was also on the flight. Now, Rumshad is admitted to a private hospital in Vadakara and will have to undergo a surgery. Ashraf is undergoing treatment for injuries a the Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode.
