Mumbai plane crash: Lunch break saves 50 labourers at crash site

With showers continuing through the afternoon, Naresh was wearing a raincoat. When the incident occurred around 1.10 pm, he was working in the compound area between the A and B wings of the building. His face suffered first degree burns. Hospital superintendent Dr Vidya Thakur said Naresh’s condition is stable and he will require burn care support.

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Naresh, who lives near the Telephone Exchange building in Ghatkopar, said his fellow labourers at the site were mostly eating lunch in the basement.

Another labourer, Kaushal Kumar Nishad, was in the basement when the plane crashed. “The A wing is constructed till the 12th floor. The B wing construction is underway, one column is ready,” Kaushal, 55, said. He started working at the site two months ago. When the plane crashed, smoke from the fire filled the basement. “We all ran out. I saw a charred body near the crash site,” he said. Kaushal, also a Chhattisgarh resident, said the crash caused vibrations in the entire building.

Luvkush Kumar, 21, suffered minor abrasions in the right foot. He says he saw the plane nosediving towards the construction site. “It crashed through a tree towards me. There were very few labourers around, I ran in opposite direction towards the building.” The crash occurred just eight feets away from him when he slipped and injured his foot. “The noise shook the entire area,” said Kumar, a native of Allahabad. He had started working at the site two months ago and shifted to Mumbai two years ago.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivaji Umap agreed that the labourers were lucky to have escaped. “No one among them sustained serious injuries. The bodies of the dead were charred beyond recognition.”

Ram Sharan Yadav, who has been working at the construction site since last month, saw the plane narrowly miss a nearby building, appearing to be aiming for the open compound area in the construction site. “I shouted loudly to alert everyone. Before the crash there was no sound of the approaching plane. It came out of nowhere,” Yadav said. He sensed that the pilot was looking for an open space among the residential buildings to land.

Mahakale, who suffered minor injuries to his feet is stable, said Dr Thakur.

According to Jigar Kumbhari, a local resident, many in the neighbourhood saw the plane fly between trees, missing nearby buildings narrowly before crashing.