The story of an anonymous hero in front of an air accident in Venezuela.
Hello my people from Steemit! I hope you are fine.
As I promised you, today I want to share with you a very special and important story of my life, it happened in September 13, 2010.
Commercial aircraft ATR 42
The aircraft ATR 42 of the Conviasa company (company of the Venezuelan state) covered the route from Porlamar - Venezuela (International Airport of the Caribbean "Santiago Mariño") IATA code: PMV, to Puerto Ordaz - Venezuela (International Airport "Manuel Carlos Piar") IATA code: PZO.
Being approximately 9:40 a.m, I was leaving a meeting with the president of the company SIDOR (Siderúrgica del Orinoco) where I currently work, it is located in Matanzas - Puerto Ordaz - Edo. Bolívar – Venezuela.
When I was about to return to my work area which it was approximately 1 Km away from that place, a co-worker aboard in a 1997 Toyota Hilux double cab tells me he was going to the same place as me but first he would leave some colleagues close to the depot 10 of the company (where the event occurred) he told me if I wanted go with him, and I immediately accepted, after leaving my colleagues, arriving at the depot 10 we observed an aircraft in front of us ATR 42 - Flight 2350 of the company Conviasa (Venezuelan airline) flying at very low altitude, which immediately surprises us because we knew that aircraft was very low altitude and close to falling, after this we observe it collides with it's right wing against the high voltage power lines, very close to where we were, in fact some parts of the wing of the aircraft were detached and fell to the ground and the highway.
In a matter of seconds we heard a big explosion, at that moment we knew the aircraft had fallen, when we saw the smoke very close immediately we went to observe from a high part very near the site of the accident, we saw the second explosion and we got out of the truck to observe what had happened, at that moment my heart was beating very fast and very hard, the adrenaline in my body at that moment for being there and see that horrible and unexpected accident was so big that I didn’t know what to do, I have no words to describe what I felt when I saw the people lying on the ground after being ejected from the aircraft in a spontaneous way after the crash, and was very heartbreaking when I heard them screaming in a and terrifying way asking for help.
Moments after removing the wounded from the aircraft, you can observe that the aircraft was overturned by the impact, split in half and with the front still on fire.
I remember at that moment that I told my co-worker who was driving the truck that we should go to help the people, they needed us and we immediately got into the truck and approached to the entrance door of depot 10 (where the accident happened and the aircraft fell), when we arrived my co-worker told me that he didn’t want to accompany me to help the people and he would be watching from afar, but I immediately ran out to where the aircraft was. What I saw surprised me because it were things I had never seen, that I never thought I could see in my life: people with very ugly open fractures, burned, others deceased (by fractures, or burned) and many injured (burned and with fractures).
I took a deep breath and remembered everything I had learned in the previous courses so that I could rescue the injured in this accident, I immediately went to the people who were most seriously ill, then to the serious and finishing with the milder ones, I gave them with my co-workers (who work in the depot 10 of SIDOR) who were on the site the first aid, while the emergency teams of the company and the entire city arrived. They approached the site after having spent approximately 20 minutes.
Moments when the rescue team of the Venezuelan State arrives to search for the wounded and bodies without vital signs.
Then I entered to what was left of the back of the aircraft, with flames on the sides and with a lot of smoke inside it to look for survivors; already inside I found several wounded and others trapped screaming in a heartbreaking way that they couldn’t go out for their injuries, asking for help, others for being trapped by the safety belt blocked and others were also trapped by the wreckage of the aircraft that left them in bad conditions to get out of it.
Immediately I proceeded to do everything possible to get them out of the place, with the help of some co-workers, we achieved the goal that was to get them out alive.
After got out the passengers from the aircraft with some co-workers who were supporting me I found a child about 2 years old, he was on top of a steel barrel with serious injuries, such as: fractures in various parts of his body, internal bleeding and second-degree burns in a large part of his body. Believe me, this was very shocking to me because when the firefighter arrived to take him to the clinic, the boy died, that's what really shocked me, in fact I still remember it, as if it had happened yesterday.
Steel barrels where I found the 2 years old boy
Another view of the aircraft after the accident with many of its parts destroyed.
I believe that God prepared me physically and mentally to be in that place, because just a month before I had prepared myself in a course taught to us in the company SIDOR: Volunteer Firefighter in which I learned a lot about First Aid, Medical Emergencies 1 and 2, action in the face of natural and non-natural disasters, handling of hazardous materials, prevention and extinction of fires, care and transportation of injured people, among others. Also I took courses on survival and rescue on land and on the high seas 3 months before the event. All this helped me a lot to be able to attend and act in the way I acted at the accident site.
Volunteer workers of SIDOR, Aeronautical Firefighters and personnel of the body of investigations working analyzing the facts.
This is me in the course of Volunteer Firefighter - SIDOR year 2010.
We managed in the accident to rescue 36 people alive and unfortunately 15 people died, only one cabin crew member survived.
The main purpose of this post is to show how great and powerful God is, how he prepared me and used me as his instrument for this rescue, in that accident all those people or the majority could have died if we had not been in that place. immediately, but it wasn't like that, this is my great testimony of faith and hope.
Friends, I have many things to share to you about this topic but there are moments like this, even though we say that time heals everything and helps us to improve as a person, but I never will forget this huge episode in my life, which seems like taken from a fiction movie, but it is real as our destiny, I only ask God to help me to never live it again, I just hope that never again an aircraft fall again with human beings inside it. I feel very sad because for me it is like going back in time, seeing the whole experience of that day as if it had happened yesterday, life offers me a new opportunity, things happen because they have to happen, we have to take advantage of every moment that God and life offers us.
One of the acknowledgments given by the presidency of the SIDOR company to my person regarding for the rescue.
Another of the acknowledgments given by the government of the Bolivar State-Venezuela to me.
Captain Ramiro Cárdenas.
Unfortunately he was one of the deceased that day.
Thank you and may God bless you always in heaven.
Photograph of the true hero of this story, who made a unique maneuver to save 35 people alive who were traveling on the aircraft piloted by him, my most sincere respect and recognition for this man of honor. Honor to whom honor is deserve. I personally don't consider myself as a hero, I consider him a true hero; thank you so much Captain Ramiro.
Later in the next post, I will continue tell you the outcome of this real story that I lived and marked my life, the most exciting part of this story, which I’m already writing.
Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to read my post, I hope you like my story; in the comments you can give me your opinions about it.
Note: The photos that have no source, because they are my property, taken with my Samsung S3 mini phone.
This is quite a story, @freddypeers! I can understand why you feel that God not only prepared you to handle this disaster, but also delivered you right to the spot where you needed to be to be of service to Him and those poor people. You have a heavy burden to bear because of it, and I pray God gives you peace and rest from the horrible things you had to experience to do this work. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the story.
I've upvoted and resteemed this article as one of my daily post promotions for the @mitneb Curation Trail Project. It will be featured in the @mitneb Curation Trail Project Daily Report for 15 FEB 2018. I'm following you now, too.
Thank God for people like you!
Thank you very much, I have no words to thank him for what he does for my publication and for many, with the money that I earn here, I feed many Venezuelan brothers who are eating garbage and have no home, soon I publish the next part. Best regards @mitneb.
I am so glad you shared this article with me, @freddypeers! I am happy to help you out.
Cheers!
Thanks @mitneb ¡¡.
good writing dear
your writing is really appreciated
i hope you will continue that
keep it up
Thank you very much brother, best regards @iqbalhossin.
Its a blessing to help mate. Such an inspiring story!
Thank you very much for your very positive comment @ebitularmbert, only God can make these things happen in this way.
What a tragic story brother.
You doing amazing work with your volunteering...many blessings to you!
Amen brother, thank you very much, regards.
Very good information, thanks for this contribution, Regards! @borcast
Thank you very much @borcast.
Looking forward to next part of the story! Upvoted :)
Thank you very much @crystalpacheco30, I'm writing the next part, I'll upload it soon.
Wow intense, yes experiencing a tragedy like that is life changing, thank you for stepping up!
Thank you very much for reading my story @techguy56, a hug brother.
Your act of jumping in and helping to rescue as many people as you could was certainly very brave and heroic, and I applaud you for it.
However, from my perspective, saying that God had anything to do with it actually belittles the "heroism" you displayed. If God chose to play any role in this horrible event, then why would God have allowed this tragedy to occur in the first place?
Nonetheless, what YOU chose to do was heroic and selfless, and you undoubtedly saved at least a few lives. For that, I salute you! :)
Thank you very much, best regards @alexpmorris
Buen post y bien trabajado