HEHO, Myanmar: Myanmar yesterday hunted for clues about the cause of an airplane crash-landing that left two people dead, as foreign tourists told of their miraculous escape from the burning jet.
The ageing Air Bagan Fokker 100 jet came down in thick fog Tuesday and caught fire in a field short of the runway at Heho Airport.
One Burmese tour guide on board was killed along with a motorcyclist on the ground. About 11 people received hospital treatment including foreigners. Passengers on board said there was no warning that anything was wrong as the plane descended.
“When I looked out, I saw all of a sudden there was no runway. Then there was an impact,” said David Antoni, 27, from Germany. “We all just got on our knees because there was a lot of smoke coming through the airplane,” he told AFP while recovering at a nearby hotel. “Some people jumped through the fire” to escape from the plane, he said. The carrier said the injured included two Americans who were flown to Bangkok for treatment. Two Britons, one Korean man and the two pilots were also hurt.
“We are still working to find out the cause,” Civil Aviation Department deputy director general Win Swe Tun, who is heading the investigation into the crash, told AFP at Heho airport.
He said the plane appeared to have hit a power cable while approaching the runway but it was unclear if that was the reason for the accident.
