Two pilots “miraculously” survived the crash of a 737 tanker that crashed and caught fire in a remote area of Western Australia on Monday.
The aircraft left a long trail in the area where it fell while fighting a fire in Fitzgerald National Park, about 420 kilometers southeast of Perth.
Aerial photos taken after the crash on Monday showed thick black smoke and much of the fuselage on fire. Shortly afterwards, only the tail of the plane had not turned gray.
The two pilots managed to get off the plane and were discharged after a day in hospital on Tuesday.
“It’s almost a miracle they got off that plane,” Stephen Dawson, Secretary of Regional Emergencies, said at a news conference Tuesday.
“We are very relieved that they are okay. It really is an extraordinary result. And it is probably a test of their skills as drivers,” he added.
The massive tanker, a converted former airliner, hit the ground just 20 seconds after dropping its cargo into the burned area, officials said.
Australia’s Transport Safety Office has launched an investigation into the country’s first “ground collision” involving a Boeing 737.
Source: DN
