Falling debris: Panic in Swabi as sky rains plane parts

Pakistan Air Force fighter plane spare tanks plummet into River Indus.

SWABI: Panic spread among residents of Alla Dher and areas surrounding River Indus in Swabi when a small plane dropped its spare tanks into the water on Wednesday.

Murad Ali Shah, an official of the Tordher police, said he was patrolling the outskirts of the area when the police station informed him a plane had reportedly crashed in the River Indus near Alla Dher. Consequently, Shah and other policemen rushed to the site.

Shah added people in the nearby village feared a fighter plane, which was flying above the settlement, was dropping bombs in the area. They believed the plane missed the village and dropped the bombs in the river by mistake. Residents reportedly told Shah they had pulled the objects out of the water.



The official said he calmed the villagers down and told them the objects were, in fact, the spare tanks of a fighter plane. “I contacted a source in the air force to find out about the crash,” he added. “I was informed by Kamra Airbase that a fighter plane was on a routine exercise when it dropped the tanks. Residents of the area need not worry.”

Shah informed the tanks had been shifted to the police station from where Pakistan Air Force officers had to pick them up as per procedure.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2013.