Mohammed Ali from Koyilandy was only partially conscious when he made it out through the emergency exit of the Air India flight that crashed at Karipur on Friday. He jumped on to the wing and then to the nearby road before he collapsed and was later carried away by rescue workers.

“I had a doubt that the flight may catch fire in no time. Hence, I hurried out”, he had told his brother-in-law, who is his bystander at the Government General Hospital at Kozhikode Beach.

He thanks the seat belt that saved him from being thrown around during the crash. But he is at present fighting a serious blood clot in his internal organs caused by the tightening of the seat belt around his abdomen.

Several survivors of the crash, mostly those with not so serious injuries are under treatment at the Beach Hospital in Kozhikode. Most of them were shifted here from other hospitals on Saturday based on the state of their injury.

Mohammed Ali had a good job in Dubai before COVID-19 hit and the firm was shut temporarily. Out of work for months, he had no option but to wait it out at home until the crisis was averted.

“There were many like me on that flight, who were there out of desperation. We never expected a bigger danger here”, he conveyed through his brother-in-law.

M. Riyas from Kakkattil shares a similar plight, though his injury is very minor.

He has been travelling to and from the Middle East for some years on visiting Visa, hoping for a permanent job. A painter, he had to cut short his job hunt this time due to teh pandemic and return home. He is now at the Beach Hospital where he is getting treated for a fracture on his hand.

All of them are sure that they were spared from a fatal injury only due to their seating position, quite away from the cockpit.