Cork crash survivor's father speaks of son's escape from wreckage

The father of a survivor of the Cork plane crash has been speaking about how his son managed to free himself from the wreckage.

John Walsh, from Waterford, said his son Donal had to break a window, with the help of firemen, to get free of the wreckage.

Donal was one of six survivors. Six others were killed.

"It's been a big shock, a big upset for him," said John Walsh, speaking to WLR radio station.

He hopes his son will be discharged from hospital later today.

Meanwhile, another survivor, from the North, is also expected to be discharged from hospital today.

Four others will remain in Cork University Hospital over the weekend.

Two of patients are currently in intensive care, but doctors say they will be transferred to a ward later today.

Dr Stephen Cusack from Cork University Hospital said the survivors were traumatised by the tragedy.

"They fully appreciate their position and how lucky they have been. They're very grateful for that," he said.

He said the survivors were having the sort of reactions that he would expect, swinging between elation and depression, saying it was "the normal, extreme emotional reaction you would expect if you had been in such an extreme situation in which people had died and people had been seriously injured."