The Aircrash.

My story - VI

We were living in Agra at that time , it was probably the year 1970 . We the kids were plying in front of our quarter (accommodation ) provided by The Defence Department to my father who was in Indian Air force (IAF) It was sunny day in the winters. It was a holiday as we were having fun playing “Kabaddi”. The street boys from the block of quarters in the colony had gathered in front of our lawn ,rather it was common place where we kids used to play and in the evening we used to sit together after the games to share the latest info or some mini stories or sweet and sour experiences. Just at a few yards away from our playground ,our mothers and women of the block used to gather. Just at some distance from two groups another group used to occupy a space in the lawn where our fathers use to hold there conference. It was the time when the TV technology had not entered our our veins and had started showing the impact on social fabric. Rather, TV had not even entered common peoples homes. People had a good past time to share their thoughts and experiences and were very cooperative. Unlike now days people have no time for social relations ,even for their parents and kids, they remain glued to the TV like addicts.
Earlier, there was a large vacant place in front of the block across the road, which we used to wonder why was it as kept vacant. There was wild growth bushes, from where some of the reptile species used to appear and we kids were happy chasing them to their dens. It was a fun playing in that area. Though it was inhabitated by the birds like quail , bulbuls, woodpeckers and some other reptiles like chameleons few snakes of course . We witnessed a market complex come up right in front of our residence, ours was a corner house. We had ample space for organizing kitchen garden. I love gardening , and it is still my passion to be in the lap of nature. I later in the life had a quite good experience of working in our paternal farms at my native place at village in District Hoshiarpur ,Punjab, in India.
While we grew up playing hide and seek in that area. We witnessed the opening of a sweet shop in that new market. I remember that we used to go to the shop to buy some snacks , Samosa ( Indian snack) and Rasgullas ( Sweetmeat) Or at times all family had a treat of Puris – Channa in breakfast on Sundays. The evenings were many a times made very pleasant, when our team used to win the game of Kabbadi and we were provided by hot Samosas as incentive for winning the game. We used to have a additional bout of game in the morning session only on holidays.
That day we had a good fun and exhaustive game. All the members of both the teams had toiled hard. We were taking the time out. I was asked to bring some water from the home. I went inside to bring a jug full of water. My elder brother asked me to again go home and bring more water and some glass tumblers. As all had finished with the water break and were relaxing for a while. It was about 11 AM ,when I had gone for keeping of the jug and glasses inside my home. Mom asked me to stop playing now and do some studies. She also instructed to convey the message to my elder brother. I came out of my house and was heading to wards the place where my team mates were sitting. I heard a strange sound in the sky. I raised my head to see in the sky , it was a terrible sight. I saw a Indian Air Force fighter jet flying at a very low height , it was so low that one could even view the Pilot very clearly maneuvering the flight. Probably he was struggling hard ,As a last ditch effort to save the plane from crashing into a populated area. It was few hundred feet away from the ground.
I was stunned at the sight of the plane flying so low. I was speechless for few moments . At first it looked as a special sortie a part of exercise to fly so low and move in that way to avoid detection by enemy radar. As such sort of exercise was a routine affair. However we had seen hundreds of fighter planes flying through the skies. Even we had witnessed the awesome fly past during Air Force days and even exercise of Dog fight in the sky . But it was certainly not the sight we had ever witnessed. The planes movement and sound was some different ,I shouted that some thing was wrong with the plane. Every one sitting in the ground started looking up at the plane. The plane was releasing black smoke, this was not a usual sight to see.
Every one was spell bound at the maneuvering of the plane . As we watched the plane movement in the sky, The plane was now suddenly going up from the earlier level . It was the far sight-ness , commitment and great courage that he was still in control of the falling jet. He took a plunge in the sky as far as he could and after he was sure that there is ample space ahead of the plane , clearing out of the populated area , The pilot bailed out ,we saw the parachute opening and come down at a distance. All happened in front of our eyes, just as the pilot jumped out to safety the plane crashed just few hundred meters away from the colony. We saw the plane turn into a fire ball and dangerously falling down to the earth. We all were horror struck. Every one standing there who saw the plane go in flames just shouted ‘Oh ! God’. We just prayed that this happen in a vacant place and every one be safe.
Soon the news spread like wild fire in the colony , there was sign of interrogation on everybody’s face. We could not make it out as to where the actual place of plane crash could be. Suddenly some of the elder boys of our neighborhood suggested , “let us go and see at the sight”. So few of us planned to go to the site. I and my brother informed our mother that we are going to the site of air crash. At first my mother rejected the proposal , but as we requested to allow us because some of the boys of our neighbor hood are also going. She allowed us with a condition that we will keep safe distance. We had promised that we just want to see the crashed plane.
We started our journey on bicycles. We were about 7 boys and we had 4 bicycles. It was like an expedition to go on such a mission . After moving for about 10 minutes on the inner road of the colony , we had to turn to the link road leading to the village after moving ahead for about 1500 yards from our colony , interior of the National highway , where the flames and the thick black smoke was seen raising high in the fields. There were other people the onlookers who were making a beeline to the site. The whole route was jammed by the rush of people descending on to the site. The curiosity was looming high in our minds.
We saw the Civil Police jeeps and Military Police trucks rushing towards the site. There was loud sound of horns and sirens of the Police and Defence vehicles . Just while we were heading towards the crash site we also saw two fire brigade vans rushing to wards the site in high speed , probably they were from the city fire station. Their warning bells ringing alerting all the traffic seeking clearance of the road ahead . So we also moved away off the road. We knew that they need to reach fast and urgently , however we could wait a moment. At a distance near the village where the crash had taken place , some of the police personal were deputed to control the crowd and guide the people . They were blowing the whistles and guiding the military and police personal. As we reached near the village we asked him about the way to reach the site.
My friend asked him – “ Uncle ! where is the crash site.?”
“ Hello ! what do you kids want to do there ?” he shouted.
“ sir, we just want to see the site. ?”
“ What hell do you think it is a game ? It is no jugglery, you better go home ? ” he said.
“ We just want to see the crash spot.” said my friend.
“You kids have no business over there .”
We just are curious about the incident.
“You people will only add up to the crowd and any thing could happen .
I wonder why your parents have let you come here , to add to the
crowd” He said with grudge.
“We will keep distance sir , don’t you worry, Thanks”
“Better you return home , its not a child’s play … go home”
He started signaling us to go back and whistling to the people who were moving towards the village.
We were determined to reach the spot and become the first witness to the air crash in our families. By all means it was a great feat. So we dodged the police man and moved fast on our bicycles towards the site along with the crowd . just after moving about in the village lanes which were dusky and slit of the drains and domestic waste water from the houses in the streets which was stagnated emitting foul smell. Somehow the people were passing through the lanes unmindful of the material lying there, As they had not come for the inspection of the rural area. People living in rural areas are used to such situations . People make improvised things where water was stagnated in the villages roads. There we saw at a place a broken sewerage pipe and a wooden plank was used to make a bridge . Rather it is our privilege in India, to see these things and change our habits according to needs . We need not bother of these things as they pertain to village Punchayat and Rural development Department. True to this spirit we all passed off the area only just cursing the system .
We also moved ahead along with the crowd and soon we were in front of the site which was smoldering by the fire erupted due to the crash. However the site was in front of us but still it was about 800 yards away from the cluster of houses of the village in the fields. Thanks the village had a providential escape. There was a huge crowd of men women and children all onlookers , some standing on the roof tops some climbed the trees to have a good view of the site. We even saw police struggling to keep the crowd at a safe distance. We saw at least four fire brigade trucks and score of the firefighter volunteers managing the affair. They were handling the fire fighting hoses and spraying the water at least four places. Even at one side the villagers were asked to help the firefighting ,they had started a tube well and water was taken to the site where the plane had hit the ground, the straw stash had caught fire and was almost half gutted There was danger that the fire might catch on with other two standing stashes which were only few feet away from that which had caught fire. The villagers started to throw mud and water over it to extinguish the fire.
The Military police men were also helping them to evacuate the people who were caught unaware . As we moved closer to have a clear view of the crashed fighter plane. We saw that some of the police personal and fire fighter volunteers were dousing some object with the water . The were trying to carry some thing which was charred. On inquiring about the mystery we were told that unfortunately the two people who were working in the fields were trapped in the fire that started by the crashed airplane , The onlooker said the police is trying to removed the charred remains of the victims. As we inspected the whole site , we saw that the plane had hit the ground and broke into pieces ,and since the plane was moving in great speed it dragged the main portion of the fuselage and wings about 400 yards away towards other side of the village. The whole area which was affected by the debris and mangled remains of the plane all lied scattered in the strip of 200 yards long and 100 yards wide. As if it was a road . The affected area was giving a horrified view, the crops was totally burnt as the fuel of the plane triggered the fire it was emitting strong stent of burning of flesh , straw and fuel.
The miracle that happened was that just where the plane fell many lives were left untouched and had a close brush with death. Had the plane crashed some 15 yards ahead it would have been a great loss to human life. There were at least 10 -15 persons working in field adjacent to the place the plane first hit the ground . Thank god, they were only terrified at the narrow escape and was not even injured in this incident. They were so shocked that unable to believe that they were alive for some minutes. Obviously they had a close shave. Fate had just favored them , They witnessed the death of other persons just few yards away. They were helpless to pull out the victims , They were seen virtually roasted when the fire had engulfed the area where they were working. The impact and effect was so intense and quick that within second everything was finished. The sight was so pain full and horrified that the people were weeping inconsolably. It was a great tragedy indeed , as the village people had lost a couple of precious lives in front of their eyes ,that too without any fault of theirs , No body would have thought in the wildest of dreams even, that death occurring to them from the skies and it was terrible site to see for us too . The sight had engraved the event on my minds ,memories keep haunting when ever there is a air crash. This stirr-up the tragic feelings in my innocent heart. I started to feel very bad ,really that night I was unable to take off my mind from the scene.
At the site of the crash we saw scattered pieces of the plane the wheels wings rudder ,fuselage, parts of cockpit all spread in the area which was totally engulfed in the fire triggered by the spilling of fuel and high temperature due to friction. The scene was so confusing that one could not gauge what went wrong to the plane which went down and caused the tragedy. It could be the right decision of the pilot who took the plane to certain height risking his life as the plane while gaining height had turned into a fireball , that made the difference. When he bailed out, the plane was at about few thousand feet high. Considering it to crash at the spot safe and away from the village . He might have not even thought that still the crashing plane would kill some person. Just after the crash the pilot had dropped at about distance of 500 yards away from the site. Air Force personnel had immediately reached along with the ambulance, They shifted the pilot who was injured, to the Hospital. When we had reached there the higher authorities were available at the site they were busy inspecting the site and collecting the evidence and material which was required to investigate the reason of the crash. The Team was seen picking up the ‘black box’ of the plane. It is the instrument which contains vital evidence in any crash. Actually, my father being in Air Force ,told us that this part is so important that the minutest development and track record of the flight is recorded , The pilots conversation with the flying control ,with which he is constantly in touch during the flight is automatically recorded. This instrument is totally fire, water and shock proof.
We then returned back to our homes with a sad feeling . This incident can never be erased from my mind. I still see the gloomy sight which happened before my eyes about 40 years ago. I my self not even had dreamed of writing about the air crash at that time. Probably all the other persons who were with me at the site might have forgot about the sight. My feelings and observations are so intense that usually I cannot forget the incidents easily. But look the change in time and technology which has enabled us to share our experiences and feelings with those who are totally unknown.
Thanks to Internet.