Tragedy and chaos: Witnesses recall fatal chartered plane crash near Mumbai

Ghatkopar, where the crash occurred, is only a few kilometres from the domestic airport. The fear of crashes looms large in this area which has several high rises built in close proximity

It had been just a few minutes that security guard Samsher Khan had stepped out to have tea at a local tea stall outside the Old Malik Estate construction site. What he saw from the distance, Khan says, he will never be able to come to terms with. “A huge plane came down crashing at the place I have been working for months. There was a deafening sound, almost like a blast – and in no time, the site caught fire,” Khan narrates.

The King Air C90 12-seater aircraft had crashed into a construction sire in Jeev Daya lane near a