“I HEARD PEOPLE CRYING IN PANIC, PARTICULARLY CHILDREN” : AIR INDIA EXPRESS CRASH SURVIVOR RECOLLECTS A TALE OF HORROR!

Two days post the Kozhikode flight mishap, a survivor recollects absolute horror. K L Riyas, one of the survivors of the accident said that he had thought to himself that his death was near.

Riyas (26) was present in the Air India Express flight which skidded off the tabletop and fell into a valley. The youngster who was returning from Dubai after failing to find a job for himself due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown said, “It was sheer luck that I did not suffer any major injury. When the flight touched the runway, I felt the aircraft jolting heavily. I don’t remember what actually happened in the few seconds after that. Then I found myself trapped. I could not move my legs or hands. I had got stuck between the front seat and my seat. The overhead console had fallen heavily on my head, trapping me.’’

“My right hand was across my face and got pressed against my nose. I was struggling to breathe. I heard people crying in panic, particularly children. Many were calling for help. I heard the passenger beside me saying that his relative in the aisle seat was ‘over’. He could not move as his legs had sustained serious injury and he too was trapped between seats like me,’’ said Riyas.

He recollected that despite having been sitting at a window seat, he was trapped so badly that he couldn’t turn and look outside the window to see if there was any help arriving. “After some time, a few people came into the flight and tried to extricate me. They could not, but said that the firefighters are coming.”

He was taken to a hospital by 11pm.