‘I saw fire everywhere’: Survivor recounts how Pakistan plane jolted before crashing in Karachi
- There were only two survivors in the Pakistan International Airlines crash, with at least 97 killed. China Eastern Airlines flew the plane from 2004 to 2014
- A transmission of the pilot’s final exchange with air traffic control indicated the plane had lost power
When the plane jolted violently, Mohammad Zubair thought it was turbulence. Then the pilot came on the intercom to warn that the landing could be “troublesome”.
In a telephone interview from his hospital bed, Zubair, 24, a mechanical engineer, said flight PK8308 had taken off on time from the eastern city of Lahore at 1pm. It was a smooth, uneventful flight until the aircraft began its descent soon before 3pm.
“Suddenly the plane jerked violently, once and then again,” said Zubair. The aircraft turned and the pilot’s voice came over the intercom. They were experiencing engine trouble and the landing could be “troublesome”. That was the last thing Zubair remembered until he woke up in a scene of chaos.
“After it hit and I regained consciousness, I saw fire everywhere and no one was visible,” he said in a video clip circulated on social media.