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Amsterdam air disaster: 'A plane crashed into my home'

In 1992, Suzie Ampofo was in her apartment block in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, when a Boeing 747 crashed into it.

In October 1992, the Amsterdam housing estate of Bijlmermeer was struck by a devastating blow.

An El Al cargo jet, a Boeing 747, which had been trying to return to the airport after losing two engines, crashed onto two apartment blocks, killing the four people on board and at least 39 people on the ground.

Suzie Ampofo, who had come to the Netherlands from her home country of Ghana and lived on the ninth storey of one of the buildings, survived the disaster, but was never able to return to her home.

She tells Matthew Kenyon about the moment of impact and the years of struggle to recover. A Bespoken Media production.

Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in around nine minutes, we revisit one moment that helped shape the world and hear it through the voice of someone who was there. Scientists, artists, campaigners, soldiers, leaders and everyday people tell their true stories.

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You’ll discover what it was like to experience disasters and how people recovered from them, including the Tabasco floods in Mexico, Portugal's worst train disaster, and the huge clean-up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

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And if you’re curious about inventions, we’ll tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.

If you’re new to Witness History, the appeal is simple: real voices, one strong true story, and a fresh way to understand today through events from history – all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of BBC World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.

(Photo: The two apartment buildings that were hit. Credit: COR via Getty Images)

Release date:

9 minutes

On radio

Fri 2 Oct 202607:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 2 Oct 202607:50GMT
  • Fri 2 Oct 202611:50GMT
  • Fri 2 Oct 202617:50GMT
  • Fri 2 Oct 202621:50GMT
  • Sat 3 Oct 202602:50GMT

Podcast