Passengers told tales of mayhem and panic on Sunday after their jet skidded off the runway as it landed in Trabzon, Turkey, and became stuck in mud just metres before it would have plunged into the sea. “People panicked and were screaming. They told us to leave from the back door, but everyone tried to walk over the other,” Fatma Gordusaid, according to Anadolu. Gordu said passengers could smell petrol and were afraid that a fire could erupt. Gordu said there were also pregnant women and children on board, according to Anadolu.
A total of 168 passengers and crew members had to abandon the plane owned by private carrier Pegasus — which had just completed its journey from the capital, Ankara, to the Black Sea province — after it came to a stop late on Saturday hanging down the side of a cliff, according to state-run Anadolu news agency. On Sunday, Anadolu showed footage of the still-ongoing efforts to rescue the plane, which stood on its nose down a slope at the edge of the sea. No one was injured in the incident and all passengers were safely evacuated from the plane, Anadolu quoted Trabzon Governor Yucel Yavuzas saying. Pegasus confirmed the safe evacuation on Sunday. — DPA
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