KATHMANDU — A Nepali travel agent who survived a plane crash earlier this week said passengers should not drink alcohol during flights and refrain from sleeping during landing and takeoff.

Dayaram Tamrakar said Friday from his hospital bed that he was able to get up from his seat, break down the emergency door and help other passengers because he was alert.

“I was able to grab onto my seat during the crash, quickly release seat belts, spring up from the seat and have the sense to force open the emergency door because I was alert,” he said, adding he was able to help other passengers before he heard there was fire and decided to jump off the plane.

He thinks that it was the quick thinking of him and other fellow passengers to swiftly break down the emergency exit that helped save so many lives.

Flight BS 211, which belongs to US-Bangla Airlines, crashed and burst into flames while landing at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Airport on March 12. A total of 49 people were killed, while 22 survived.

“When someone said there was fire it was time to get off the plane. I jumped and looked back and saw the tail part was already on fire,” he said. “The army and emergency services were quick to respond; that probably also helped save so many people.”

Kathmandu’s international airport has an army camp to provide security and airport emergency services on standby.

Tamrakar said just before landing, he realized the plane was flying too low. Before the plane slammed onto the ground, people were already screaming.

“I’m just thankful that I am alive, although some of my friends did not make it [out] alive,” he said. He was travelling in a group of 14 travel operators in Nepal whom the airline had flown to Bangladesh for an awards function.

Most of the survivors are still hospitalized. Authorities have said the survivors and the dead suffered sever burns that have made identification difficult.