Heart-stopping footage has revealed the moment an elderly woman in torn clothes was rescued from her burning home after a plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood.
The video shows a group of Good Samaritans rushing toward the raging inferno and dragging Maria Morris through a window to safety.
Her husband Phil is then rescued from the backyard by neighbors who tear down the fencing, as the woman sobs that her dog is trapped inside.
The dramatic rescue came after a twin-engine aircraft crashed into two houses and a UPS truck in the suburb of Santee around midday Monday, causing a devastating explosion which killed two and injured two others.
One of the victims was revealed to be the pilot Dr. Sugata Das, a cardiologist who worked in Yuma, Arizona, and was commuting to his home in San Diego when the plane went down.
The second victim has now also been identified as UPS driver Steve Krueger, 61, who was driving along his regular route when his vehicle was struck by the fireball.
It could be seen burning in the background as Morris and her husband were rescued.
Krueger’s brother Jeffrey Krueger revealed that his sibling – who was well known and liked in the area – was just days away from retiring on October 22 after a 30-year career with UPS when he was tragically killed in the fireball.
Heart-stopping footage has revealed the moment a woman in torn clothes was rescued from her burning home after a plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood Monday (above)
Her husband is then rescued from the backyard by neighbors who tear down the fencing, as the woman sobs that her dog is trapped inside
The elderly couple suffered burns when their home went up in flames, with smartphone footage capturing the moment they were both pulled to safety by their neighbors.
The footage begins in the moments after the plane has crashed down in the neighborhood.
Raging orange flames and thick black smoke are billowing out of the side of a single-story home as a woman’s voice behind the camera is heard shouting: ‘Is anybody in the house? Can they get out?’
The woman rushes toward a window on the ground level, continuing to shout asking if anyone is trapped inside.
‘Is anybody home? Is anybody inside?’ she shouts.
‘Hey, come on!’
Another woman, with only socks on her feet, is seen getting to the window first and peering inside.
Several men and women suddenly arrive on the scene and are seen working together to pull a woman through the window.
The distraught woman, whose trousers are torn up one leg revealing her burned skin, is helped away from her home by a man who holds her arm.
The second victim has now also been identified as UPS driver Steve Krueger, 61, (pictured)
The first victim was previously identified as the pilot Dr. Sugata Das, a cardiologist who worked in Yuma, Arizona, and was commuting to his home in San Diego when the plane went down
Maria and Phil Morris survived thanks to the help of their neighbors but lost their dog and their home in the tragedy Monday. They have lived in the area for over 30 years
A twin-engine aircraft crashed into two houses and a UPS truck in the suburb of Santee around midday Monday. Smoke is seen billowing into the air
She puts her hand to her head and sobs that her dog is still inside.
‘My dog, my dog!’ she shouts.
‘What happened?’
One of the men on the scene is seen pointing off camera and shouting ‘the UPS truck’, before he and other neighbors head off in that direction to help.
The mangled truck is seen up in flames in the road next to the home, with loud bangs heard in the background as explosions go off.
The group usher each other away from the home to the other side of the road as someone asks if anyone else is inside and ‘what about people on the other side’.
‘No one else is in there, no?’ a person is heard checking.
The shocked residents are heard trying to piece together what happened and if it was a plane that crashed into the neighborhood.
The video, posted on Storyful , shows a group of good Samaritans rushing toward the raging inferno and dragging the elderly woman through a window to safety
Several men and women rush to the home and are seen working together to pull a woman through the window
The distraught woman, whose trousers are torn up one leg revealing her burned skin, is helped away from her home by a man who holds her arm
She sobs that her dog is still inside. ‘My dog, my dog!’ she shouts, as she is taken to safety
Thick plumes of smoke continue to pour out of the home, filling the sky and several blasts are heard.
A man returns to the side of the house and looks over the garden fence, noticing a man stuck in the backyard.
Two men start tearing the fence down and help the elderly man to safety.
The neighbors reunite the couple with one another as sirens are heard in the background.
Maria and Phil Morris survived thanks to the help of their neighbors and were taken to hospital where they were treated for second and third degree burns.
The elderly couple, who have lived in the area for over 30 years, lost their dog and their home.
One of the men on the scene is seen pointing off camera and shouting ‘the UPS truck’, before he and other neighbors head off in that direction to help. The mangled truck is seen up in flames in the road next to the home
A man returns to the side of the house and looks over the garden fence, noticing a man stuck in the backyard
Two men start tearing the fence down and help the elderly man to safety. The neighbors reunite the couple with one another as sirens are heard in the background
A GoFundMe to help them get back on their feet had reached $26,000 Wednesday.
Their home was one of almost a dozen damaged or destroyed in the tragedy.
Krueger was inside his UPS truck when the plane crashed into it and two homes around 12:14pm in what is believed to have been a tragic accident.
The UPS driver lived in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of Ocean Beach and was on his regular route when he was killed.
His brother Jeffrey told KNSD-TV he loved his job and was immensely popular with his customers.
‘At Christmastime, he really liked sweets and they would always bombard him with stuff,’ he said.
‘They really appreciated him, and he always had fun with them. He was that kind of guy.’
Krueger wearing his brown UPS uniform and holding a UPS package while water-skiing
Krueger’s brother Jeffrey Krueger revealed that his sibling – who was well known and liked in the area – was just days away from retiring on October 22 after a 30-year career with UPS
His UPS truck is seen in the aftermath of the tragedy burned out and with debris littering the road
He remembered his brother’s positive attitude and his love of skiing and other sports.
Krueger sent pictures of himself wearing his brown uniform and holding a UPS package while water-skiing and posing with the mammoth mascot for the Mammoth Mountain ski resort, his brother said.
‘He was very much, you gotta be positive,’ said Jeffrey.
‘Things will always get better and don´t take life so serious that it gets you down. Have fun with things.’
On Tuesday, UPS held a moment of silence of honor of the longtime employee and the flag outside a UPS customer service center in San Diego was lowered to half-staff.
‘We are heartbroken by the loss of our driver Steve Krueger, and extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends,’ the company said in a statement.
‘Those who knew Steve said he took pride in his work, and his positive attitude and joyful laugh made the hardest days a little lighter.
‘Steve was held in high regard and will be greatly missed.’
Dr. Bharat Magu, Chief Medical Officer at Yuma Regional Medical Center in Arizona, where Das worked, also paid tribute to the cardiologist.
‘We are deeply sad to hear news of a plane owned by local cardiologist Dr. Sugata Das which crashed near Santee,’ he said.
‘As an outstanding cardiologist and dedicated family man, Dr. Das leaves a lasting legacy. We extend our prayers and support to his family, colleagues and friends during this difficult time.’
Das, who the plane was registered to, was flying the twin-engine Cessna 340A to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, six miles north of downtown San Diego, when it went down.
Das (pictured) was flying the twin-engine Cessna 340A to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, six miles north of downtown San Diego, when it went down
The flight was on course for Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, six miles north of downtown San Diego when it suddenly veered of course and rapidly lost height
Chilling audio from the air traffic control has revealed the controller warned the pilot more than a half-dozen times that his altitude was too low and pleaded with him to go higher in the moments before the crash.
He also cautioned that a C-130, a large military transport plane, was overhead and could cause turbulence.
‘Low altitude alert! Climb immediately!’ the controller advised.
Das responded, agreeing to climb the aircraft but did not sound in distress.
The controller later is heard saying: ‘It looks like you’re drifting right of course, are you correcting?’
‘Correcting,’ Das responds, before asking if he has been cleared for the runway.
The controller tells him ‘I need you to fly,’ warning him he is coming in too low.
Das says he is climbing but the controller warns him it ‘looks like you’re descending sir’.
‘I need to make sure you are climbing, not descending,’ the controller says.
The controller becomes more urgent: ‘Low altitude alert, climb immediately, climb the airplane. Climb the airplane please.’
The explosion which resulted in a massive fireball killed two people Monday. Pictured the destroyed UPS vehicle at the scene
Firefighters at the scene of the fatal plane crash, which killed two and damaged around a dozen homes in Santee
Bewildered neighbors watch fire crews work near the scene of a small plane crash Monday
The controller repeatedly urges the plane to climb to 5,000 feet before a final warning: ‘You appear to be descending again, sir.’
There is no response from Das.
The plane nose-dived causing the devastating crash which has rocked the neighborhood.
Robert Katz, a certified flight instructor, told CBS8 he believes Das ‘was totally disoriented’ in the low clouds.
‘He does not know which way is up,’ Katz said.
Federal investigators are now trying to determine what caused the crash.
The plane crashed close to Santana High School a short distance away from Gillespie Field Airport
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