LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A man says he was trapped for two hours by a wall of fire as explosions shook the ground — filming what he thought were his final moments after a UPS cargo plane crashed near his shop in Louisville.
Sabit Aliyev, who manages Kentucky Truck Parts and Services on Grade Lane, said he and his coworker were surrounded by flames and metal fences as the inferno spread. The two searched for two hours for a way out alongside others from nearby businesses until police cut them free.
“We found this path between this, like, electric station,” Aliyev said. “I see the gates. There was a little creek and cops was on the other side, so we waving with the phone flashes, whistling, yelling. So they came back. I told them they have to have bolt cutters. So they cut the gate lock — that’s how we get out.”
The business's security camera captured the moment a UPS plane bound for Honolulu — with three people on board — crashed after investigators said its left engine broke off during takeoff.
“I record the video because it’s last moments maybe somebody will see,” Aliyev said.
IMAGES | UPS plane explosion sparks massive plume of smoke across Louisville area
He described the chaos that followed as smoke and flames consumed the sky.
“I think it was like a bomb or something. It was so bad it knocked me down on my feet. Everything in the shop fell down," he said. "The glass windows was shot out. It was like earthquake.”
“It looks like hell,” Aliyev added. “Tornado of fire, noises like I never heard before. You can feel the heat."
He said, "When this thing start exploding, I was like, 'we gotta run.'”
By the time Aliyev reached safety, his phone was filled with missed calls from his children.
“When they fell asleep, I kiss every one of them,” he said.
But not everyone survived.
Aliyev bought his property from Kentucky Petroleum Recycling — just 400 feet away — a business that took a direct hit from the plane crash. Half a mile away, at Grade A Auto Parts, three employees are still missing.
“Everybody talking about my emotions and stuff like that — no, no. There’s people who dead. I’m alive,” he said.
At least 12 people are confirmed dead and 16 remain missing. The NTSB said it will remain on scene for at least a week, sifting through the wreckage of what could have been Aliyev’s final moments.
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