He was the first to inform the Police

“I had just finished my Namaz and was coming out of mosque. Whenever I would hear the sound of an aircraft flying, I would look up at the sky. This time, the sound was different; not the usual one. The weather was cloudy. A flight made a noise may be because it hit the tower before it fell in the ravine” says Mohammad Sameer, one of the first to witness the tragic air crash and the first to inform about it to the police.

Soon after it fell down it thrice did it make a noise and started to burn. I realized we cannot do much as it did seem to be a big incident. I immediately dialed 100, to the police control room who in return took my number and address and said we will call you back soon. Cops from Bajpe police station called me and asked for details including the exact spot and the road to reach the spot. Within minutes the Police Commissioner called and requested me to go with friends to render help at the spot and said we will be there soon.

We were around 6 people. We ran to the spot through the shortest route possible and other people who heard the blast were also coming there. As we reached there, we saw a lady stuck on two trees. She couldn't move, four of us lifted her and sent her to the hospital. She is the one of 8 survivors Sabrina Haq, student of Manipal.

Soon I heard a voice of a kid calling for help saying 'uncle, uncle' from the crack side. On the other side two of the passengers were trying to jump down. Although the plane was grounded it was still high for them to jump. Soon my friend went to help the kid. As he was nearing there was the final blast. With that, the screaming of people was reduced to mere muteness. I won't be able to forget that sight for the rest of my life, he grieved.

The fire services tried to put off the fire from the end of the runway started blowing water to extinguish the fire, but the force wasn't enough and couldn't reach the spot. They stopped it and came round to the spot which took time and by the time they arrived what was left was just burning bodies. Along with them, an ambulance and police also reached the spot.

We helped the fire service with the pipes and later we lent our hands in retrieving the bodies and passing them to the ambulance. It was steep and slippery, so we made a human chain to bring the bodies up on stretchers. We got tired and the scenes put us off further. As more people started coming in, we stepped aside and they took over. But we didn't leave the spot.

There are many more who have worked more than us, but their work has gone unnoticed.