On January 20, 1992, Romain Ducloz, 8, returned alone by plane to join his mother in Strasbourg after having stayed with his father in Aix-en-Provence. At 7:20 p.m., the Airbus A320 on which he was traveling crashed near Mont-Saint-Odile. 87 passengers lose their lives. Romain and eight people, including an air hostess, survived. Thirty years after the tragedy, he looks back on this night that marked his life.
The courage of Pierre Lota and Nicolas Skourias
“We were flying at night in the fog, we couldn’t see much. It was very quick, he recalls. I was supported by Pierre Lota and Nicolas Skourias who were the most present. Afterwards, we approached the plane to warm ourselves with the flames. Pierre and Nicolas returned to the plane to help other people who had not managed to get out on their own. »
“They also brought us jackets to keep warm. They even fed the fire to keep warm, they made shelters for some who needed it, they took turns trying to find an escape until… I don’t know if it’s Nicolas or Pierre who found this famous forest ranger who is the first to have discovered us and given our position. »
Four hours of waiting in the cold and the snow
For some families, the most painful aspect of this disaster remains the disorganization of the rescue services, which took more than four hours to find the wreckage, arriving on the spot after local residents and journalists. The first evacuees were evacuated “either on the backs of men, or with arms or even with the help of makeshift stretchers”, notes the investigation report.
“Anything legal was a bit more complicated for me growing up. [Et j’essayais] to forget a little bit… But that’s not possible. »