Dialogue with Chinese Passengers Who Saved Children in "Tanzania Passenger Plane Crash in Lake Accident"
"I didn't have time to think about seeing the child and rushed to the rescue"
A group photo of Zhang Lin and the rescued children
A few days ago, a Tanzanian flight crashed into Lake Victoria during its landing in Bukoba, 24 people were rescued and 19 were killed in the accident.
Zhang Lin, an employee of the Tanzania branch of CCCC Second Highway Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., was the only Chinese passenger on the plane. After he escaped, he successfully rescued a one-year-old child.
Except for a slight abrasion on his leg, Zhang Lin is currently in good physical and mental condition and has returned to normal work.
Recently, Zhang Lin was interviewed by a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily.
It was raining heavily outside before the incident
Beiqing Daily: How long have you been working in Tanzania?
Zhang Lin: It's been almost 3 years.
In November 2019, I went to work in Tanzania. I got married in the first month of this year and returned to work in Tanzania soon after.
Beiqing Daily: What happened to the flight at the time of the incident?
Zhang Lin: I made a temporary decision to change the flight.
It happened to be Sunday, and I temporarily decided to go back to the project because I had work to do.
Since the Tanzania Airline ticket that usually takes off at 9 o'clock could not be booked, I rebooked this flight.
The plane is relatively small and can take about 40 people.
Beiqing Daily: Can you describe the incident in detail?
Zhang Lin: The weather was bad at that time.
I set off at 4:00 am local time on the 6th, arrived at the airport at 5:00 am, and the plane took off on time at 6:00 am. The flight journey took about two and a half hours.
I was rather sleepy after getting on the plane and fell asleep shortly after.
It was almost eight when I woke up, and the plane had arrived over Bukoba.
It was raining heavily at the time and the plane kept going in circles.
But after a while, the plane began to land gradually.
Self-rescue after plane crashed into lake
Beiqing Daily: What happened after that?
Zhang Lin: I can see from the window that the plane is getting closer and closer to the water and to the shore.
At this time, the fuselage felt relatively bumpy, because I had taken such a small plane before, and the fuselage would be bumpy even when landing in normal weather, so I was relatively calm.
I held the seat in front with both hands. I didn't expect that just after I held it, the plane suddenly plummeted and fell into the lake. The sound in the cabin was very loud.
At this time, I looked up and saw that there was water in the front half of the plane.
Beiqing Daily: What did you do after the plane fell into the water?
Zhang Lin: At that time, my oxygen mask had already fallen. I quickly took out a simple lifebuoy from under the seat, fixed it on my neck, and unfastened my seat belt.
Fortunately, the emergency escape hatch was in the last row. At that time, I was sitting in the second-to-last row of the plane due to late check-in. There were only two people in the last row, plus a flight attendant. I was with the escape hatch. There are only 3 people in between.
Afterwards, the cabin door was pushed open by the flight attendant, but due to her weak strength, she was unable to fully open the cabin door. Several passengers and I stepped forward to push the cabin door open and swam to the edge of the wing.
The first time I saw the child, I rushed over
Beiqing Daily: How did you find out that there were young children?
Zhang Lin: At that time, I turned around and saw a child in the crowd being held up close to the fuselage.
At that time, the situation was relatively urgent, and I didn’t have time to think about it. When I saw the child, I rushed over to rescue the child as soon as possible.
I climbed onto the wing, circled to the upper part of the fuselage, then circled back to the tail of the wing, pulling the child up and holding it in my arms.
The nearby fishermen responded very quickly. It didn't take long for two small fishing boats to approach the plane, one near the hatch, and the other near where I was. Then I took the child back to the shore in the fishing boat.
After landing, the child was handed over to the rescuers.
Beiqing Daily: Were you sent to the hospital after that?
Zhang Lin: Yes.
The local government responded very quickly. When I got out of the cabin, I saw that there were many airport staff waiting anxiously on the shore, and at the same time preparing some rescue equipment.
After arriving on shore, I wanted to go back to see if they still needed help, but the staff declined and asked me to go to the hospital to check if there was anything wrong with my body.
Then I left the scene in a car and was taken directly to a hospital.
It's happening too fast, there's no time for fear
Beiqing Daily: Why did you always behave calmly during the whole process?
Zhang Lin: There are several reasons. My own personality is that of a calmer person.
Then I also like aircrafts at ordinary times, I have learned about many air accidents, and I also like to read the explanations of some survivors, so I have a certain understanding of this knowledge.
At that time, things happened so fast that there was not much time to react at all. It took less than a minute from the time the water was over the head to the opening of the hatch, and there was no time to fear.
The moment I saw the hatch opened, my heart relaxed.
Beiqing Daily: Did the child's family find you later?
Zhang Lin: On the second day of the incident, the child's mother came to the hospital to find me. It was amazing that when the child saw me, he opened his arms and let me hug him.
When his mother took him back, he was still reluctant.
Beiqing Daily: Have you told your family about this experience?
Zhang Lin: After the incident happened, at first I kept the family a secret and didn't want them to worry. I called my wife on the afternoon of the 8th to tell me what happened.
She was worried at first, but I talked to my wife again, and she also expressed her understanding and support, because we are in the same industry, and it is not easy to understand this industry.
Considering how old my parents are, I didn't tell them, because I didn't want them to worry.
Many colleagues and friends called me to express condolences after learning about this.
Thank you very much for your concern for me.
This group of articles / reporter Li Tiezhu intern Wang Xiaolin coordinator / Jiang Shuo
progress
The bruise on the leg is fine and has returned to normal work
Ge Jie, director of the Tanzania Project Office of the CCCC Second Public Service Bureau, told the Beiqing Daily reporter that Zhang Lin is recovering very well. He suffered a slight abrasion on his leg during the accident, but it is no longer a serious problem and has returned to normal work. .
"Yesterday (November 9), he played basketball with us." Ge Jie said that Zhang Lin's mental state is very stable at present, and the company has also arranged a professional psychological counselor to give him psychological counseling.
Ge Jie introduced that the company usually attaches great importance to safety production training, and has arranged many safety training activities this year. A lot of work has been done to prevent and control the epidemic.”
On November 10, a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily learned from the Second Public Communications Bureau of the China Communications Corporation that on November 8, the leaders of the Second Public Communications Bureau of the China Communications Communications Corporation had made a video connection to express condolences to Zhang Lin.
The leaders of CCCC No. 2 Company praised Zhang Lin's outstanding emergency response ability and courageous behavior. He hoped that he could continue to maintain an optimistic attitude and get out of the psychological haze caused by the plane crash as soon as possible, and asked the bureau, overseas business department and projects Organizations at all levels of the Ministry have done a good job of caring, caring and psychological counseling for Zhang Lin himself and project employees, and solved Zhang Lin's difficulties and demands in work and life.
The Ergong Bureau will always adhere to the tradition of "no one can be missing", pay attention to and make every effort to ensure the life, health and safety of every overseas employee.