Holiday saves kids from plane crash
2009-09-24 09:26
Johannesburg - Four people were critically injured after a plane crashed into a school fence in Merebank near Durban International Airport on Thursday, KwaZulu-Natal emergency services said.
"Four people on board the plane were critically injured," said Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha.
A Sapa reporter on the scene said the plane broke into pieces after crashing into the Merebank Secondary School's concrete fence shortly after take-off at around 08:00.
A huge team of rescue workers managed to remove one person and were working to remove three people who were still trapped in the front section of the plane which broke on impact.
Debris from the 50-seater plane was scattered on either side of the fence.
Only the four people appeared to have been on board at the time of the crash, about three kilometres from the airport, and nobody from the school was injured as it had been closed due to the public holiday.
A crowd of about 200 people had gathered to observe the rescue operation.
- SAPA