One of the two survivors of the PIA plane crash has described his escape from the burning plane after it came down during a second attempt at a landing.

“All I could see around was smoke and fire,” engineer Muhammad Zubair told Geo News. “I could hear screams from all directions. Kids and adults. All I could see was fire. I couldn’t see any people – just hear their screams. I opened my seat belt and saw some light. I went towards the light. I had to jump down about 10 feet to get to safety.”

From his bed in the Civil Hospital in Karachi, Zubair said that about 10 minutes after a failed first landing attempt, the pilot announced to passengers he was going to make a second attempt but then the plane crashed as he approached the runway.

The other survivor

The other passenger who survived was Zafar Masood, president of the Bank of Punjab, a Sindh provincial government spokesman said. The bank said he had suffered fractures but was “conscious and responding well”.

The tragic plane crash

The Pakistan International Airlines aircraft with 99 people onboard crashed into a crowded residential district of the city of Karachi on Friday afternoon after twice trying to land at the airport. At least 97 people were confirmed to have died, health authorities said, but it was not immediately clear whether they included casualties on the ground.

The crash happened on the eve of the Muslim Eid festival, when many in Pakistan travel to visit relatives.

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