Society

Plane crash survivors recall horror

By Tian Xuefei and Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-26 06:36

YICHUN, Heilongjiang - A passenger plane broke apart during a "premature landing" at a new airport in Northeast China late on Tuesday, killing 42 people of 96 on board in the nation's worst air disaster since 2004.

Relatives of crash victims are overcome with grief in Yichun, Heilongjiang. [Provided to China Daily]

Some of the passengers were thrown out of the Henan Airlines plane as it burst into flames and exploded while landing about 2 km short of the runway, outside the barbed-wire enclosed Lindu airport in Yichun, according to a report on the crash seen by China Daily.

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China Central Television (CCTV) earlier said eight of the victims were found 20 to 30 meters from the plane's wreckage in a muddy field.

The plane came down at 9:36 pm in the remote city of 1 million in Heilongjiang province surrounded by forests, after flying from the provincial capital Harbin, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

Earlier reports claimed the plane had overshot the runway.

Yichun City government said the dead were between 12 and 55 years of age.

The plane's two "black boxes" were recovered on Wednesday, Xinhua reported, but it is still not known what caused the accident.

The Henan Airlines has grounded all flights for the next three days.

Survivors among the 96 passengers and crew described scenes of horror as they escaped the inferno through holes torn in the fuselage.

Gao Jianchun, 48, from Jiangsu province, was seated in the 20th row with two colleagues when the plane crashed and was engulfed by flames.

His colleagues both managed to unbuckle their seat belts and tried to escape. "I was stuck on the seat, struggling with the belt," he recalled.

"The cabin was filled with smoke. I could not breathe. But at last, I managed to free myself from the belt," he said.

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

Gao then saw a gap in the fuselage and jumped out. His lungs were damaged by smoke inhalation.

"When I looked out the window, I couldn't see anything. There were no lights at all," Xinhua quoted survivor Xue Xilai as saying. "Soon after that, the plane bounced heavily on the ground and then broke in two."

A man who was sitting in the fifth row said he knew the plane was in difficulty before the landing.

"There was strong turbulence and luggage in the overhead bin was falling down," said the man who declined to be named. "Everyone panicked."

"When the plane landed, I felt a strong jolt, and then the plane seemed to begin to come apart," another 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. Experts from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) have ruled out sabotage.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday called for all-out efforts to save the injured passengers. They also ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident as well as thorough inspections within the civil aviation system to eliminate any safety risks.

Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang is leading a work team sent by the State Council. He flew from Beijing overnight to Yichun to supervise the emergency work.

Technicians from the makers of the plane, Brazil's Embraer, the world's largest producer of regional jets, flew to China to investigate the crash.

Henan Airlines sacked its general manager Li Qiang on Wednesday. The Zhengzhou-based carrier had appointed Cao Bo as the acting general manager, Xinhua News Agency reported.

On board the flight was a delegation from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security led by Vice-Minister Sun Baoshu. Sun was one of seven severely injured who were in critical condition.

The plane's captain, Qi Quanjun, survived and was in hospital, though he was unable to talk due to severe facial injuries, doctors said.

A cabin attendant survived but the plane's co-pilot and two other attendants were killed.

Among the injured is Chen Chung-hua, from Taiwan, who was being treated at a local hospital.

There were five children among the passengers.

Most of the casualties were found at the back of the aircraft. The injured suffered mainly from burns, cuts and broken limbs.

Henan Airlines flies smaller regional jets, mainly on routes in northern and northeastern China. Previously known as Kunpeng Airlines, the carrier was relaunched as Henan Airlines earlier this year.