Passengers of Tu-134 were burning alive – eyewitnesses

Reporters managed to find the people who rescued passengers from the Tupolev 134 passenger plane that crashed in Russia’s Karelia yesterday.

Yevgeny Kovalev is one of those who rushed to help the wounded. There were survivors in the jetliner, but it was impossible to take the people out of the plane because of the fire. According to Yevgeny, he was watching TV at home on Monday night when all of a sudden electricity in the house went off. The next moment, the man heard a strong sound of something big falling down on the ground.

Yevgeny ran towards the car road and saw a man lying on the ground and moaning. Yevgeny put him to safety and then ran to help a woman who was also thrown out from the plane during the crash. The woman had her leg broken. The last person, whom Yevgeny could help, was a man in pilot’s uniform, but the pilot was already dead.

Kovalev said that he could hear screams from the fire, but the flame was so strong that it was impossible to get close to the plane. He said that he could hear three explosions inside the plane. Fire brigades arrived soon, but it took them about 20 minutes to put the fire down.

Valery Minin is another eyewitness of the tragedy. Two large chassis wheels fell in his garden during the crash.

In pictures: Tu-134 crashes in Russia

READ MORE: Source: Pravda