IT has been more than a month since the PK 8303 crash which took 97 precious lives, one of which was my mother, renowned paediatrician, Dr Yasmeen Akbani. I would like to narrate my family’s horrendous post-crash experience.

It all began on May 22 at about 2:50pm, while we waited at the airport for the flight to land. We heard a commotion at the terminal regarding a plane crash. After about an hour those waiting to receive their loved ones were asked by the airport security personnel to assemble in the domestic departures area.

There was no PIA or CAA representative or any other sort of help desk. After another hour or so CAA officials began to set up a help desk. The two personnel manning the desk had no information about the passengers or any other details related to the crash. After about another half an hour or so, an emergency response team desk was set up. Here, two personnel started to gather the details of the next-of-kin. Till this point there were no PIA personnel around to answer queries.

After the passage of another four hours or so, PIA personnel told us that a crash help cell for relatives had been set up at the Airport Hotel and we should go there. When I went to the hotel, no one was there.

From thereon (May 23 to 28) I visited Karachi University, Jinnah Post Medical Graduate Hospital and Civil Hospital for DNA testing. I visited the Edhi and Chipa morgues numerous times to identify my mother’s body, the Malir and Sohrab Goth police stations for police clearance.

Instead of being with family, for more than a week I had to run from pillar to post to identify my mother’s body through DNA testing, dental records, complete a mountain of paperwork for body clearance, and ensure that correct documentation was being done, so that my mother could be buried.

Throughout this ordeal no support was provided by the CAA staff or the PIA. There was no coordination amongst PIA, CAA, Karachi Police, Karachi University and Civil and Jinnah Hospital and the National Disaster Management Authority.

Alas, we can only pray and hope that some good comes out of this tragedy and our loved ones lives have not gone in vain.

Omar Siddiqui
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2020