Lunch break saves 40 laborers during Mumbai plane crash
(Sourced from PTI)
At least 40 laborers had a narrow escape as they went for their lunch break minutes before a chartered plane crashed into an under-construction building in the bustling Ghatkopar area in Mumbai yesterday. Five people, four crew members and a pedestrian, lost their lives when the King Air C90 plane crashed into the crowded suburb at 1.11 pm.
The laborers of the under-construction building where the ill-fated plane crashed had gone away for lunch. Three construction workers received minor injuries and were admitted to a civic-hospital. Laborer Naresh Nishad, who sustained injuries on his face said, "We had a lucky escape as we were not present at the site as it was our lunch-time. Otherwise, we would have met the same fate."
Another laborer said, "There was light rain at that time which made us seek shelter for our lunch. We went to another under-construction building in the same compound. But generally, we used to have our food at the very place where the tragedy struck." Another daily wage worker, Lavkush, who came to Mumbai from Allahabad, received a minor abrasion in his right leg.
The plane once belonged to the UP government and was sold to UY Aviation, a private company. It had taken off from the Juhu airstrip on a test flight, but lost control when it was four nautical miles from Juhu, Air Traffic Control sources said.
