Kozhikode mishap — Survivor recalls horror: Passenger a seat away died

K K Riyas, one of the survivors of the flight mishap at Kozhikode on Friday, said he had resigned himself to the thought that the end was near.

The 26-year-old, now undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode, said a passenger sitting a seat away from him died in the mishap, which took place when an Air India Express flight skidded off the tabletop runway and fell into a valley.

“It was sheer luck that I did not suffer any major injury. When the flight touched the runway, I felt the aircraft jolting heavily. I don’t remember what actually happened in the few seconds after that. Then I found myself trapped.