Irish student among 88 dead in Thai jet crash
Survivor tells of fireball horror as plane explodes
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Monday September 17 2007
A YOUNG Irish man died in the Thai plane crash that claimed 87 other lives, it was confirmed last night.
Aaron Toland (22) had left his home in Derry earlier last week to travel the world with his close friend Chris Cooley.
Mr Cooley, who was sitting beside his friend in Row 6 on the flight, was in a critical condition in hospital early today.
The Department of Foreign Affairs last night confirmed there had been at least four Irish people on board the ill-fated flight from Bangkok to Phuket.
Last night, Mr Toland's aunt Patricia Logue, deputy mayor of Derry, said the family were devastated.
Her nephew and his friend had just finished university and were planning a year out, travelling via Thailand to Australia. It has been reported they had changed their travel plans at the last minute and had boarded the flight. Mr Cooley was described by hospital authorities as being in a critical condition. Earlier, one of the survivors, John Gerard O'Donnell, told of his dramatic escape through the flames of the wreckage.
He recalled there was a "scream of engines" as the plane -- an MD-80 operated by the Thai Budget carrier One Two Go -- was making its approach.
"I knew something was wrong," he said. "The weather was real bad and there was a lot of unusual noises during the landing. Something was obviously wrong. Then there was a bang, followed by fire."
"I tried to find my friend but I couldn't find him," John said.
He added that he ran through flames to get out of the plane and found his friend outside. He then scrambled through a nearby emergency window but suffered burns and a back injury as he leapt down to safety. "The plane was on fire but I managed to get through. He (his friend) was already outside."
Mr O'Donnell (50), who is believed to be from Cork, is today recovering in hospital. He is one of the lucky ones who was on board the budget airline which nosedived as it landed at Phuket on an internal flight from Bangkok.
The friend, William Burke, is understood to have been the passenger in the next seat to him (18B).
He is also reported to have survived but is in hospital with minor injuries.
The other Irish were named by Thai authorities on the manifest as Vladimir Fleylikhman (29) and Isabella Fleylikhman (28), who are believed to be husband and wife. They are said to be in hospital with superficial head injuries.
Last night, Mr O'Donnell was in the Bangkok Phuket Hospital in Phuket and staff there said he was comfortable.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said that its First Secretary, Owen Duggan, was in Phuket and was working with the local honorary consul, Helene Fallon Wood, to establish how many Irish people had been on board.
Other survivors taken to local hospitals described a horrific scene as they escaped the burning plane.
"I saw passengers engulfed in fire as I stepped over them on the way out of the plane," survivor Parinwit Chusaeng, who was slightly burned, said on the Nation TV channel. "I was afraid that the airplane was going to explode, so I ran away."
Mr Chusaeng said he looked back and saw fires raging in the front and back of the plane. "I saw the plane in flames and there was a lot of smoke."
On board were 96 tourists, 27 Thai nationals and a crew of seven.
The captain was reported to have aborted one landing attempt and gone around, but on his second approach he appeared to have lost control.
Officials said it was too early to establish the cause of the crash, but some said the weather was likely a factor.
"The visibility was poor as the pilot tried to land. He decided to make a go-around but the plane lost balance and crashed," said Chaisak Angsuwan, director general of the Air Transport Authority of Thailand. "It was torn into two parts."
At the time of the accident weather conditions were not excessive. But the monsoon can bring with it sudden squalls and winds from unexpected directions.
