2010-08-25 11:38

YICHUN, Heilongjiang - "Someone dragged me to the emergency exit door and threw me out before I realized what was going on."

At eight years old, Ji Yifan apparently knows little of how narrowly he had escaped death.

Ji was among 54 survivors from the Brazilian-made Embraer E-190 jet that crashed upon landing in Yichun, a city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Tuesday night.

At least 42 people have died in the crash.

The evacuation slide, which was also on fire, broke just as Ji was sliding down. "I fell to the ground. Again someone dragged me aside," he said in his hospital bed, bandaged on his right cheek and with bruises on his face, neck and arms.

A man who was slightly injured in the head remembered strong turbulence after the crew announced it was about to land.

"There were four or five bad turbulence and luggage in the overhead bin were raining down," he said. "Everyone panicked. Those sitting in the back began rushing to the front of the cabin."

"There was smog, which I knew was toxic. I held my breath and ran on until I saw a burning hole on one side of the cabin. I crawled out and ran at least 100 meters to ensure I was safe."

Altogether 96 people -- including five crew members -- boarded the plane, sources with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said. Five of the passengers were children.

Officials in Yichun confirmed about 18 officials from Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and its provincial branches were also on board. They were heading for a meeting in Yichun.

A ministry official in Beijing, who refused to be named, said she knew at least two colleagues from the southwestern Sichuan Province had died and all others were injured.

Vice Minister Sun Baoshu was in critical condition. "He suffers broken bones and injures in the brain and lungs," said Dr. Li Jinchang who operated on Sun overnight.

He said the operation lasted four hours until 2 a.m.

The jet broke into two pieces before it smashed into the ground and exploded. Most of the casualties were found in the back of the cabin.

According to the death roll released by Yichun city government, the dead were aged roughly from 12 to 55, calculated from their birth dates indicated in their ID numbers.

The cause of the crash is still being probed.

Vice Minister of civil aviation Li Jian said it would take a while to publish the result of the investigation. "It's hard to make any assumption right now, but we will publish, step by step, what we can rule out."

The black box was retrieved Wednesday morning.

Of the five-member crew, two have survived, including the captain and an attendant.

The plane is owned by Henan Airlines in the central Chinese province of the same name. Reporters were denied entry into the company's facility in Zhengzhou Wednesday. Staff members and guards at the entrance said the company would not accept any request for interview or make any comment.

It's parent company, Shenzhen Airlines based in the southern boom city neighboring Hong Kong, said all flights run by Henan Airlines had been canceled as of Wednesday.

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