Plane crash survivor's 'relief'

The plane was trying to land in foggy conditions

A British man who survived an air crash that killed at least 14 people has described his relief at being alive.

Barnaby Philps, 28, from Coulsdon, Surrey, escaped with cuts and bruises after the EgyptAir Boeing 737 came down in thick fog on Monday while trying to land near Tunis, Tunisia, after a flight from Cairo.

According to reports, the British Gas geologist called his father William, 55, at home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to say: "It's amazing. I'm okay. I'm a bit shaken but I don't think I'm injured at all."

William Philps told the Daily Mirror: "Words can't really express the relief I felt."

He said he thought his son may have survived because he was at the front of the plane, which escaped the worst of the damage when the flight came down on a hillside four miles from the Tunis-Carthage airport.

Peter Haynes, president of British Gas Tunisia, said: "He's in good spirits. He's managed to escape from a major disaster with minor cuts.

"He has been through quite an ordeal and he needs time to collect his thoughts."

Distress call

Mr Haynes said that Mr Philps had been travelling to Tunis for work on British Gas's Miskar field, the company's biggest producing asset in Tunisia.

The plane was carrying 54 passengers and eight crew at the time it came down.

At least 14 were killed.

There was a distress call from the pilot just before he lost contact with the control tower, reports said.

Airport officials in Tunis are quoted as saying the plane's landing gear had failed to open during the approach to the airport.