A flight attendant who helped people to safety during the recent Russian plane crash at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport has shared her terrifying ordeal.
A total of 41 people died after the Aeroflot Superjet-100 was consumed by fire mid-flight and pilots were forced to make an emergency landing.
However, 37 passengers manage to get out alive - largely thanks to the quick-thinking work of crew on board.
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"I thank God - and the stewardesses who saved me," said survivor Dmitry Khlebnikov.
"They were always with us, helping people to climb the slide and getout of the cabin full of smoke...
"It was dark and incredibly hot inside."
Flight attendant Tatyana Kasatkina, 34, revealed how she had kicked the plane's door open and physically pushed passengers out onto the emergency slide to safety.
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"When the plane stopped, the evacuation immediately began," she said.
"The fire was visible. Everyone was shouting that we were on fire.
"But there was no fire inside the cabin at this moment... I kicked the door out with my leg and pushed out the passengers so as not to slow the evacuation.
"Just to hurry them up I grabbed each of them by the collar from the back."
Kasatkina continued: "It was all so quick. The smoke was already black.
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"The last people were crawling to get out... Everyone had jumped from their seats and moved forwards, although the plane was still moving at a good speed.
"I saw the first woman calling somebody on her phone and saying, 'We are on fire, we are falling down'."
Kasatkina explained there had been a heavy hail storm moments after take-off, saying: "Lightning hit us. There was a flash followed by popping...
"We took off and got into a cloud and it was hailing.
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"There was such a noise outside [as hail hit the plane].
"At that moment it was a popping, mainly on the... left side...Everyone was looking at me.
"There was popping and a flash, like an electric flash."
She added: "The flight deck informed us that we were returning to our home airport."
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However, the plane's internal communications malfunctioned, and she could barely hear the pilot as he ordered crew to prepare for an emergency landing.
Another survivor, Dmitry Kharinin, said: "At first everything was good, the crew did well, they worked well during the first seconds.
"All special services arrived very quickly but people around were panicking.
"Thank God, the crew did well and quickly took the people out."
Another male survivor said: "It was dark there, with a high temperature. There was smoke.
"They were carrying the people out of there, helping them to go down the slide."
Flight attendant Maxim Moiseev sadly died seeking to rescue passengers from the flames in the rear of the plane, according to reports.
The plane's captain, Denis Evdokimov, said: "We lost radio communication because of a lightning strike.
"We did not have radio communications during landing.
"We managed to resume it via an emergency frequency but it was abrupt and short.
"We managed to say a few words and lost it. And we had to connect it again.
"Air traffic control did help us, they guided us to the runway. The speed was not high, but normal for landing. Everything was according to the book.
"We gently approached the ground, slowing down. After a complete stop we ordered emergency evacuation.
"The second pilot was the first to leave the cockpit, thenI did. At first I did not glance outside. When I did, I saw a fire engine.
"The fire began after landing. We were not on fire when in the air."
Aeroflot has also released a statement saying the crew did everything they could to save the passengers and evacuated them in less than a minute.
The statement read: "The crew of the Aeroflot aircraft, which took off today from Moscow for Murmansk and was forced to return to Sheremetyevo airport due to technical reasons, did everything possible to save passengers. The aircraft was evacuated in 55 seconds, compared to the industry norm of 90 seconds.
"The captain was the last to leave the burning aircraft.
"Malfunctions on board the aircraft, which was operating flight SU1492 from Moscow to Murmansk, were detected shortly after takeoff.
"The crew was forced to request an emergency return to the airport. The engines caught fire after landing at Sheremetyevo; the fire was swiftly extinguished. Passengers left the aircraft via the emergency exits. Emergency medical assistance is being provided to all those in need."
Featured Image Credit: East2West News
Topics: World News, News, Russia