KATHMANDU: A passenger’s courage prevented a tragedy on Friday night when a Buddha Air plane skidded off the runway while landing at Bhadrapur Airport in Jhapa. Amid smoke and panic, Umesh Moktan Tamang opened the emergency door, helping all 51 passengers escape safely.
The plane, which departed from Kathmandu at 7:00 pm, encountered the incident while landing at around 9:45 pm. Amid smoke and chaos following the landing, a passenger, Tamang, helped save the lives of all 51 passengers by opening the emergency door.
Tamang, who was seated in seat number 14, said the plane began making a loud rumbling noise and filled with smoke as it landed. As panic spread, he took action.
“The air hostess was panicking, and everyone was crying,” Tamang recalled. “I went and kicked the emergency doors one by one. When people were screaming and losing control, I decided I had to take an alternative action.”
He described terrifying scenes inside the cabin. “Some passengers were crying uncontrollably, others were banging their heads against the windows. Within a minute, everything went black, and there was a strong, foul smell inside the plane. I didn’t think I would survive, so I kicked the door.”
Tamang said he believed opening the emergency door was the only chance for survival. “I knew we could survive only if the emergency door opened. Even then, I didn’t think the door would actually open,” he said.
Originally from Falelung-4 in Panchthar district, Tamang currently lives in Birtamod. He had traveled to Kathmandu to obtain a national identity card and attend to other matters and is preparing to go abroad for employment. He was staying in Birtamod at the time of the incident.
Arjundhara Municipality Mayor Baldev Gomden, who was also on the flight, confirmed Tamang’s role in saving the passengers.
“If our brother from Panchthar had not acted, we would not have survived,” Gomden told Khabarhub. “Even the air hostesses were panicking. Smoke had already filled the cabin, and everyone could have suffocated. He saved us like a god.”
According to Gomden, another door at the back was also broken open, allowing some passengers to escape. “The most important thing was that once the emergency door opened, we could jump out easily. What happened was completely unexpected,” he said. He added that he had felt unusual shaking while the plane was still in the air.
Umesh Moktan Tamang’s statement
“I feel very calm now, but at that moment everything happened so fast. From the beginning, the plane was shaking. Even while flying, it felt like it was going up and down. We thought it might be because the plane was old, so we didn’t pay much attention.
“When the plane landed, there was a loud noise, and it hit something on the runway. After that, the air hostess told us not to panic. The upper door closed, so I kicked the lower emergency door to open it. When it opened, everyone escaped through that door.
“There were elderly people and children on the plane, and everyone jumped when the situation demanded it. What happened in just one minute still feels like a dream. I can’t imagine anyone surviving if that door hadn’t been opened. I opened the emergency door myself, and I believe it saved everyone’s life.”
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