An air hostess has told of the horrific moment she was forced to throw passengers out of the burning Aeroflot jet in Russia after it crashed and exploded. Tatyana Kasatkina, 34, grabbed people by their collars and pushed them out onto the tarmac in a bid to speed up the evacuation process.
She revealed that many passengers trying to escape the flames were slowed down by others stopping to grab their luggage.
The plane, which had been due to fly from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport to the Arctic Circle city of Murmansk, was forced to make a crash landing shortly after taking off on Sunday May 5.
More than 40 people are believed to be dead, including two children and a member of the airline’s crew. Denis Evdokimov, the captain of the flight, and Miss Kasatkina both claimed the accident was caused by lightening hitting the plane. However, other reports suggest that the plane had an electrical fault.
Miss Kasatkina described hearing shouts of a fire and kicking open the emergency exit with her foot. She said: ‘It was all so quick. The smoke was already black. The last people were crawling to get out. ‘Everyone had jumped from their seats and moved forwards, although the plane was still moving at a good speed.
‘I saw the first woman calling somebody on her phone and saying: “We are on fire, we are falling down”.’ Miss Kasatkina recalled seeing an ‘electric flash’ before being informed that the flight would be making an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo International Airport.
Mr Evdokimov said the fire began after landing and that the plane was not on fire while in the air. Passengers who survived the crash have credited air hostesses for saving their lives, with one stating that he ‘nearly fainted from fear’.
Survivor Dmitry Khlebnikov said: ‘I thank God and the stewardesses who saved me. They were always with us, helping people to climb the slide and get out of the cabin full of smoke… It was dark and incredibly hot inside.’
The Sukhoi jet had 73 passengers and five crew members on board when it sped down a runway spewing huge flames and black smoke on Sunday night. Elena Markovskaya, a spokeswoman for Russia’s Investigative Committee, said today that 41 people were killed, although Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova implied the death toll was 40.
'Three strangers knocked stepdad out then abducted five year-old girl' A spokeswoman for the crash investigation team, Svetlana Petrenko, confirmed the deaths of two children on-board. It is thought that 11 people are injured.
A flight attendant named Maxim Moiseev, 22, died trying to save passengers towards the tail of the plane, it has been reported. He remained on-board trying to help people escape the inferno and was killed in the blaze.
Authorities in Murmansk have declared three days of mourning over the loss of life. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Russian Vladimir Putin had offered his condolences to the victims’ loved ones.
Russia’s Investigative Committee says the flight recorders from the plane have now been recovered. Investigators are looking into inexperienced pilots, equipment failure and bad weather as possible causes for the disaster.
She revealed that many passengers trying to escape the flames were slowed down by others stopping to grab their luggage.
The plane, which had been due to fly from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport to the Arctic Circle city of Murmansk, was forced to make a crash landing shortly after taking off on Sunday May 5.
More than 40 people are believed to be dead, including two children and a member of the airline’s crew. Denis Evdokimov, the captain of the flight, and Miss Kasatkina both claimed the accident was caused by lightening hitting the plane. However, other reports suggest that the plane had an electrical fault.
Miss Kasatkina described hearing shouts of a fire and kicking open the emergency exit with her foot. She said: ‘It was all so quick. The smoke was already black. The last people were crawling to get out. ‘Everyone had jumped from their seats and moved forwards, although the plane was still moving at a good speed.
‘I saw the first woman calling somebody on her phone and saying: “We are on fire, we are falling down”.’ Miss Kasatkina recalled seeing an ‘electric flash’ before being informed that the flight would be making an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo International Airport.
Mr Evdokimov said the fire began after landing and that the plane was not on fire while in the air. Passengers who survived the crash have credited air hostesses for saving their lives, with one stating that he ‘nearly fainted from fear’.
Survivor Dmitry Khlebnikov said: ‘I thank God and the stewardesses who saved me. They were always with us, helping people to climb the slide and get out of the cabin full of smoke… It was dark and incredibly hot inside.’
'Three strangers knocked stepdad out then abducted five year-old girl' A spokeswoman for the crash investigation team, Svetlana Petrenko, confirmed the deaths of two children on-board. It is thought that 11 people are injured.
A flight attendant named Maxim Moiseev, 22, died trying to save passengers towards the tail of the plane, it has been reported. He remained on-board trying to help people escape the inferno and was killed in the blaze.
Authorities in Murmansk have declared three days of mourning over the loss of life. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Russian Vladimir Putin had offered his condolences to the victims’ loved ones.
Russia’s Investigative Committee says the flight recorders from the plane have now been recovered. Investigators are looking into inexperienced pilots, equipment failure and bad weather as possible causes for the disaster.
