THAILAND: German and Austrian passengers who survived Phuket plane crash recount dramatic ordeal

Two passengers who survived a plane crash in Thailand's Phuket which killed 89 people on Sunday (September 16), described their harrowing ordeal. Speaking to Reuters Television on Tuesday (September 18) German Christoph Falchetti and Austrian Marcel Squinobal explained how they hurriedly evacuated the burning plane after it crash-landed at Phuket's airport, narrowly escaping death. "The plane had had trouble earlier on keeping balance. It was going up and down, over and over. Just before the landing, or his attempt to land, one should say, there were a couple of pushes in an attempt to get to the airport. After that there was a final push where he attempted to get the plane back in the air. Then two or three seconds after the final push, the crash to the ground happened. It was instantly completely dark. The moment the aircraft came to a standstill, fire broke out and heavy smoke developed. It was very hot," 27-year old Falchetti said. "Three rows in front of us, someone tried to open the emergency doors. My friend then tried to help open the doors, so that we could get out. There was incredible pushing and shoving as obviously everyone tried to get themselves out of the plane. I can't say for sure, but I think we stepped over some dead people, who were lying on the ground. I jumped beyond the wings because they were relatively slippery from the rain. We just went to the runway to get far away from this plane because we didn't know whether this plane would potentially still explode," he added. The two, both living in Munich, said they were on their way to Phuket for a holiday. They are among five Germans who are expected to be released from hospital on Tuesday. Most of the dead were foreign holidaymakers, including 18 Iranians, five Americans, four Swedes, a French national, one Australian, one Briton and one Canadian. Falchetti and Squinobal said they considered themselves lucky to be alive. "The first thing that we thought we would do when we get home is to meet our families and that we see everyone and that we will be happy that we can be with them again," Squinobal said. "For me, and I think I am also speaking for my friend, it's like a new birth day -- just being alive, just being able to continue enjoying life in a way that others probably can't -- those who didn't survive," Falchetti added, before breaking down in tears. Falchetti suffered from a neck sprain and Squinobal suffered some minor bruises and scratches. Their physical injuries are not severe but doctors say they have suffered major trauma. The two will head to Bangkok later on Tuesday. Due to their experience, they have requested they be transported by road.

ITN Source | September 18, 2007

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