54 Killed but 282 Survive as Jet Crashes in Portugal

A chartered Dutch jumbo jet with 340 people aboard slammed into a runway Monday while trying to land in a storm, broke apart and burst into flames. Officials said at least 54 people en route to this popular beach resort were killed.

The government said 282 people survived the crash of the DC-10, although many were injured. Four people were listed as missing.

Pilots said that holes in the wreckage, the proximity of firefighting equipment and luck all contributed to the high number of survivors.

Fire-blackened wreckage was strewn across 400 yards of the airport. Rescue workers and dogs continued to search for bodies.

The pilot of the Martinair flight from Amsterdam, who suffered a broken collarbone in the crash, told a doctor a strong gust of wind hit the jet during the landing and that a wing hit the ground, TSF Radio reported.

Passenger Marlous Jungerius told of panic as people tried to flee: “There was screaming and people falling over each other. I saw a stewardess with blood pouring from her head. There was blood everywhere.

“Those of us who got out of the plane ran as hard as we could--people were running in all directions,” Jungerius told Dutch NOS television.

Many people survived because they were able to scramble out of doors and gaping holes in the fuselage and because firefighting equipment was close by at the airport, said pilots who were briefed about the crash at Martinair headquarters in Amsterdam.

Dutch Radio said that all aboard were Dutch nationals. Other reports said some passengers were British and African.

Several people said the pilot had made several passes over the runway during the rainstorm before attempting to land.

Marcel Meeuwesse, another survivor, said he sensed something was wrong during the approach.

“I was sitting in the middle toward the back in the smoking section. There was a lot of rain as we were coming down. I had this feeling--this idea--we weren’t going to come down all right, so I grabbed my bag like a pillow and bent over,” Meeuwesse said.

“When I came to the door,” he said, “I saw more flames and I smelled gasoline everywhere, even on my clothes.”

Meeuwesse said he escaped through a rear emergency door just before the plane caught fire.

“I ran through the flames and then I was out and there was foam shooting at us. I just kept running,” Meeuwesse said.