‘Saw a Man on Fire’: Eyewitnesses Recount Ghatkopar Plane Crash

Residents narrated the episode, describing it as a “loud noise at first.”

A small chartered plane crashed in a busy area of Mumbai on Thursday, 28 June killing at least five people.

(Photo: AP)

Video Editor: Vishal Kumar

A ghastly sight of a burning man greeted local residents as they ran out of their houses after a chartered plane crashed in suburban Ghatkopar on 28 June 2018.

"The explosions following the crash and flames leaping in the air were so huge that initially we could not understand what has happened," Prakash S Giri, who lives opposite the construction site where the 12-seater plane crashed, told PTI.

"We were having lunch when we heard the first explosion. We immediately rushed out... saw a burning body near the crash spot. We tried to save the man but the flames had engulfed him so completely that we found ourselves helpless," he said, recounting the horror.

“We heard a very loud noise at first. We thought something must have collapsed at the construction sight nearby. I peeped out of my window. When I came downstairs to check, we were told a plane had crashed,” said Naina Dala, told The Quint.

The aircraft had two pilots and two flight engineers on board.

It happened between 1:15-1:30 pm. I was on a bike. I immediately parked it and rushed to the spot and saw that a man had caught fire.

Ashish Shah, Eyewitness, told <b>The Quint</b>

"The toll could have been higher had the plane hit any of the high-rises around the spot," he said. "The pilot did not let this happen. I think the pilot purposefully manoeuvred the plane to this site to avoid casualties," said Giri.

"There was a very loud explosion. Smoke and flames engulfed the area in the 50-metre radius, leaving us clueless as to what had happened," he said.

Another local resident said after the crash, there were four-five more explosions.

A man living on the third floor of a nearby building jumped out from the balcony after the crash, fearing that his building was going to collapse, one of the eye-witnesses said.

But the incident could not be confirmed independently.

According to police, five persons, including two pilots and two aircraft maintenance engineers on board, besides a pedestrian were killed in the crash.

The plane, which crashed in the Jagruti Nagar locality of the crowded Ghatkopar shortly after 1 pm, was a King Air C90 12-seater aircraft. It had taken off from Juhu airstrip on a test flight.

Hours after the tragedy, the site became a draw for onlookers and selfie-lovers.

Police had a tough time keeping them at bay.

"I saw scenes of flames on TV and learnt that the site is not far from my home. I had never imagined that such a tragedy can occur in our vicinity. I came here to see it with my own eyes," Suraj, a college student from Ghatkopar, told PTI.

Another man was seen clicking selfies with the crash site in the background and also sending live video feed to his friends.

"I am ‘live’ (on video chat) with my friends who are in UP. When I told them I am here at the spot, they refused to believe me. So I made a video call. It seems I have also become a journalist like you people," said Prakash, a man in his forties, before police asked him to move away.

The police and other agencies, meanwhile, struggled to collect evidence from the spot as it rained incessantly.

A police official said the CCTV footage from buildings in the area will be obtained in case it throws some light on how the crash happened.

(With inputs from PTI)