Horrific details have emerged of today’s air crash in Ukraine when a plane “ran out of fuel”.
Five people were killed in the cargo aircraft and had their “heads blown off”, according to a witness account.
The Ukraine Air Alliance plane is reported to have run out of fuel before a planned stopover at Lviv, en route from Vigo in Spain to Istanbul, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Vladislav Krikliy said.
Three desperate survivors were banging on the fuselage after being trapped in the cargo section of the Antonov – 12 plane which crashed approaching Lviv airport.
Local resident, Igor Sklyarevsky said: “The plane scythed down trees like grass.
“The cockpit is trashed, and the crew’s heads are blown off.
“ Body parts were scattered all over there. ”
The wounded were “stuck in the cabin, knocking (on the fuselage) to save them.”
A rescuer said: “People were knocking and moaning.
“ They were trapped by the cargo, badly wounded.
“There was blood everywhere, their bones were broken.”
Two of the injured faced surgery and are now in intensive care.
Those killed were named as chief pilot Vitaly Stepanenko, co-pilot Igor Maevsky, navigator Yury Kuzmenko, technician Igor Zavadyuk, and radio operator Vladimir Kirilenko.
The injured were listed as engineers Oleg Shakhov and Andrey Amelkin, along with technician Andrey Koryakin.
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Reports said the plane – built in 1968 – ran out of fuel as it approached Lviv Airport.
But there are claims the aircraft may have been overloaded with an unspecified cargo.
There are also questions about the plane’s circuitous route from Spain to Istanbul yet aiming for a refueling stop in Ukraine.
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