There was complete chaos inside Indigo flight 6E-176 from Mumbai as passengers rushed towards the exits after smoke started spewing from the plane that landed on runway 9-27 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport on Wednesday afternoon.
“Everyone was in panic and there was chaos. For a moment I thought there will be a stampede and I will not be able to escape.
Despite sitting in the second row, it took me five minutes to exit by the emergency chute,” said a woman passenger who did not wish to be named.
She was the only passenger travelling with a toddler but was not allowed to exit on priority basis, she said.
“It was a rough landing and the plane skidded like a car. The fire alarm caused panic and the air hostesses were unable to guide the passengers. People started jumping on each other. It was a moment of fear I will never forget in my life,” said the woman, who had gone to Mumbai for work.
Vinay Kumar Singh, a businessman from Varanasi, said: “I was sitting on the window seat and could see the smoke as soon as the plane landed.
{{/usCountry}}Vinay Kumar Singh, a businessman from Varanasi, said: “I was sitting on the window seat and could see the smoke as soon as the plane landed.
{{/usCountry}}Passengers began to panic. Soon, the crew opened the emergency door and evacuation began. I could see passengers climbing over seats to escape and even shouting at each other.”
Passengers bound for Varanasi were later shifted to another aircraft, which took off at 6:30 pm.
“Many passengers were worried about their baggage and started collecting them as they were being evacuated through the emergency chute. The air hostesses had to shout, ‘leave the baggage, it will be delivered to you’,” Singh added.
“The passengers refused to listen. Then the crew again shouted at the passengers to exit as soon as possible.
This resulted in stampede-like situation. Many jumped from the exit doors and suffered minor injuries,” Singh said speaking over the phone after reaching Varanasi.