PIA plane crash: Survivor recalls horrific tragedy that claimed 97 lives

One of the only two survivors of the Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) ill-fated Lahore-Karachi flight — which crashed in Model Colony and led to the deaths of 97 people, as well injury to multiple others — recounted the tragedy and how he miraculously survived the ordeal.

Zafar Masud, the CEO of the Bank of Punjab, spoke about the entire experience.

"This was indeed a very revealing experience and God has been really, very, very kind," he said, in a video message recorded on the occasion of Independence Day for the overseas Pakistanis.

Masud recalled how he had fainted when the plane crashed and when he slipped back into consciousness, he "had already been rescued".

Saying that he had no memory of the actual scene when the plane crashed, Masud stated that it seemed as if God "came at the right time" to his rescue.

He said that the episode led him to believe that God was happy with him and the acts he had done in the past. The Bank of Punjab executive shared that he would try to imbibe good values in himself that had been ingrained in him as a child by his parents.

"Try to be as helpful to others [as you can]," he advised viewers in the video message. "Try and [be] committed to your country as much as possible," he added.

He praised overseas Pakistanis for their patriotism, adding that their "remittances kept us afloat" during tough times, and on the current account front in particular.

PIA plane crash

The PIA plane had crashed into a narrow residential street in Karachi on May 23, damaging several houses in a densely-populated area in the vicinity of the airport.

The airliner was about to land at the Jinnah International Airport when the pilot lost control of the airliner.

Later, briefing the parliament about the incident, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the pilots were not focused on their duty and discussing coronavirus during the flight.

The investigation report also held the air traffic controller responsible for the incident.

The PK-8303 tragedy has become the third most-catastrophic aviation disaster in the country's history.