Survivors Describe China Plane Crash

This is all that remains of a Henan Airlines passenger plane that overshot the runway in the northeast Chinese city of Yichun.

Firefighters arrived at the scene late Tuesday to douse the flames, as rescue teams searched for survivors.

There were 96 people on board, 43 of whom were killed.

Rescuers found 53 survivors whose injuries include burns, cuts and broken limbs.

One passenger described his dramatic escape from the burning plane.

[Plane Crash Survivor]:
„We stayed calm in the beginning, but then the smoke came up. It was choking—we couldn’t breathe after two or three minutes. I panicked, knowing that something was really wrong. People sitting in the back rushed to the tail of the plane. We ran towards the front. There was a hole in the right side of the first row and we escaped through it.“

Another survivor described how he also moved to the front of the plane.

[Plane Crash Survivor]:
„I felt a bump in the back of the plane, then a few collisions. The inside of the plane began to fall apart, and stuff was falling. I rushed to the front as soon as the plane stopped.“

Investigators hope the plane’s black box will determine the cause of the crash.

The accident is a setback for China’s fast growing airline sector, which has escaped disaster for several years due to a younger fleet and stricter safety rules.

Foto: NTDTV