Sole survivor who JUMPED from crashing Ukrainian plane says it was like being ‘in a video game’
Sole survivor who JUMPED from crashing Ukrainian plane before it hit the ground says it was like being ‘in a video game’ – as footage shows moment military craft slammed to earth and exploded in flames
- Vyacheslav Zolochevskyi stayed alive despite a fireball explosion when an Antonov An-26 military aircraft
- Transport plane was carrying 28 passengers when it crashed and caught on fire in town of Chuhuiv, Ukraine
- Deputy Interior Minister said ‘it’s impossible to establish the cause’ of the crash which killed 22 people
- An urgent investigation into the crash has been commissioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
A Ukrainian air force cadet today told how he was the miracle lone survivor in a plane crash in which 26 died when he felt he was ‘in a computer game’.
Vyacheslav Zolochevskyi stayed alive despite a fireball explosion when an Antonov An-26 military aircraft with a ‘faulty engine’ came down one mile short of its airfield.
New footage has emerged showing the moment the military craft slammed to earth and exploded into flames.
After the crash Zolochevskyi looked round to see his friend covered in flames and tried to put out the inferno.
Vyacheslav Zolochevskyi (pictured) is the lone survivor of the crash after an Antonov An-26 military aircraft with a ‘faulty engine’ came down one mile short of its airfield
Fellow cadet Nikolai Mikitchenko (pictured) died earlier today as he became the 25th victim of the air crash
Head of Kharkiv administration Oleksiy Kucher, who spoke to the cadet in hospital, said: ‘He said it was like a computer game, that when he got to his feet, he saw his friend burning.
‘And he was actually helping to put out the flames on this guy who was also brought into hospital.’
The cadet he tried to save – named Nikolai Mikitchenko died today, the 25th victim of the air crash.
Kucher said the miracle survivor – in his early 20s – ‘doesn’t remember everything, he lost consciousness at some point.
‘After he regained cam round…he began to put out the flames on his colleague.
‘He survived while being inside the plane. But physically he is in a satisfactory state.’
His mother Irina Zolochevskaya told how she feared he had died.
She said: ‘He is alive. He jumped [out of the plane], he managed to survive…
‘When I heard about the catastrophe, and read it was training flights for cadets, I didn’t know what to do.I was afraid that my son was gone too.’
Military doctor Eduard Khorshun said: ‘His condition is medium grave. There is no threat to life, his condition is stable.’
One of two military cadets who survived the tragic plane crash near Kharkiv in the Ukraine yesterday after they jumped out of the plummeting aircraft has died
At least 22 people including military cadets were killed and two others seriously injured on Friday when a Ukranian air force plane crashed near Kharkiv in the east of the country
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky (pictured), who arrived at the crash site, declared September 26 a national day of mourning for the victims of the crash
Crash site: The remains of the Ukrainian military aircraft which crashed on Friday killing most of the passengers on board, some of which were cadets
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who arrived at the crash site, declared September 26 a national day of mourning for the victims of the crash.
The transport plane was carrying a total of 28 passengers when it crashed and burst into flames in the town of Chuhuiv in Ukraine.
Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said: ‘Twenty-two people died, the search for two other people is continuing’.
The transport plane was carrying a total of 28 passengers when it crashed and burst into flames in the town of Chuhuiv in Ukraine
Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said: ‘Twenty-two people died, the search for two other people is continuing’
Wreckage of an AN-26 military plane seen after it crashed in the town of Chuguyiv after it crashed and burst into flames on Friday night
The transport plane was carrying a total of 28 passengers when it crashed, including 21 military students and seven crew, he said.
‘It’s a shock,’ he added. ‘At the moment it’s impossible to establish the cause’ of the crash.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would travel to the region on Saturday.
‘We are urgently creating a commission to investigate all the circumstances and causes of the tragedy,’ he wrote on Facebook.
Firefighters at the crash site of the Antonov An-26 plane on Friday night as they desperately tried to extinguish the flames
It took firefighters about an hour to put the burning wreckage of the plane out
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would travel to the region on Saturday. ‘We are urgently creating a commission to investigate all the circumstances and causes of the tragedy,’ he wrote on Facebook
The Antonov-26 transport aircraft crashed at around 8:50 pm local time (5.50GMT), two kilometres from the Chuhuiv military air base, the emergency services said
The town of Chuhuiv is around 30 kilometers southeast of Kharkiv and 100 kilometres west of the front line with the pro-Russian separatists
Pictured is a Slovak AIrforce Antonov AN-26 troop carrier aircraft (the same type which crashed last night in Ukraine)
The Antonov-26 transport aircraft crashed at around 8:50 pm local time (5.50GMT), two kilometres from the Chuhuiv military air base, the emergency services said.
The plane caught fire after the crash and was extinguished after one hour.
The town of Chuhuiv is around 30 kilometers southeast of Kharkiv and 100 kilometres west of the front line with the pro-Russian separatists.
