Faridabad, May 26: “I thought it was a shooting star only to realise later it was a small plane that was coming crashing down.”
This was stated by an eyewitness Rahul who felt something was amiss on seeing the nightsky outside his home when a dust storm hit the area.
“It was around 10.40 pm and there was heavy wind outside. I saw an aircraft, coming from Gurgaon, that was moving sideways. It was not moving in a straight line. First I thought it was a shooting star. Seven minutes later I see on the TV channels that a crash has occurred,” Rahul said. Rahul said winds were gusty at the time of the crash and it appeared that the wind was controlling the flight of the ill-fated aircraft.
He also said that flights over the Faridabad area never flew so low.
“Flights near our area never fly so low. Thererfore, it was a little surprising and unusual,” Rahul said. Naveen Grover, another eyewitness, whose house is around 200 metres away from the scene of the crash site, said, “The plane fell on the terrace of a building and the whole building is damaged.”
One eyewitness said, “The plane took at least 4-5 rounds n the air over the area before crashing. We rushed to the spot and called the fire department” Another eyewitness said that “the storm has caused the accident”.
Relief and rescue operations were hampered by power outage in the area, witnesses said.
Local people alleged police and administration officials reached the crash site almost 45 minutes after the incident.
IAF ambulances from nearby Air Force stations were pressed into service. PTI
