"Within a few seconds, the plane crashed on the ground, and fore-portion of the plane split and caught fire. Netaji turned towards me. I said, 'Please get out through the front: there is no way in the rear.' (Augey Say Nikaleay, Pichay Say Rasta Nahin Hay). We could not get through the entrance door as it was all blocked and jammed by packages and other things. So Netaji got out through the fire; actually he rushed through the fire. I followed him through the same flames. The moment I got out, I saw him about 10 yards ahead of me, standing, looking in the opposite direction to mine towards the west. His clothes were on fire. I rushed and I experienced great difficulty in unfastening his bush-shirt belt. His trousers were not so much on fire and it was not necessary to take them off. He was not wearing the sweater. He was wearing khaki drill. I laid him down on the ground and noticed a very deep cut on his head, probably on the left side. His face had been scorched by heat and his hair had also caught fire and singed. The cut in his head was a long one, about 4 inch. I tried to stop his bleeding by handkerchief. As for myself, both my hands were very badly burnt. As I came through the fire, the right side of my face was burnt and I noticed I had received a cut in the forehead which was bleeding and the right side of my right knee was also bleeding profusely, as it had hit some hard substance. The head cut was caused by hitting the floor as the plane crashed. My clothes did not catch fire. My hands were burnt very badly in the attempt to take off Netaji's clothes. Both my hands up to the wrist show marks of deep burning even after a lapse of more than ten years. Later on, even my nails came off. The nail of the left thumb has not come up properly."

(NOTE)- The members of the Committee examined the hands and saw marks of severe burns. Marks of burns were also noticed on the right side of the face and just near the right ear. Injury marks were also seen on the forehead and right leg.

"When I laid Netaji on the ground, I myself lay by his side. I was feeling acute pain and felt exhausted. I saw a Japanese passenger about 20 yards away bleeding profusely and moaning. Just then, Netaji enquired from me in Hindustani: Aap Ko Ziada To Nahin Lagi? (Hope you have not been hurt badly.) I replied, 'I feel that I will be all right.' About himself he said that he felt that he would not survive. I replied, 'Oh! No, God will spare you. I am sure you will be all right.' He said, 'No, I don't think so.' He used these words:

"When you go back to the country, tell the people that up to the last I have been fighting for the liberation of my country; they should continue to struggle, and I am sure India will be free before long. Nobody can keep India in bondage now."
(Jab Apney Mulk Wapis Jayen To Mulki Bhaiyon Ko Batana Ki Men Akhri Dam Tak Mulk Ki Azadi Key Liyay Larta Raha Hoon; Woh Jange Azadi Ko Jari Rakhen. Hindustan Zaroor Azad Hoga, Us Ko Koi Gulam Nahin Rakh Sakta.)"

In a way this was Netaji's last testament and very characteristic of him. It was in keeping with the oath he took to fight for the Independence of India till his last breath when he established the Provisional Government of Azad Hind on 21st October 1943.

15. Lt. Col. Sakai and Captain Arai do not mention that they had seen Netaji immediately after the crash. Lt. Col. Nonogaki did. He says, "When I first saw Netaji after the plane crash, he was standing somewhere near the left tip of the left wing of the plane. His clothes were on fire and his Assistant was trying to take off his coat. He took of Netaji's coat quickly but was finding difficulty in taking off the woollen sweater. Since Netaji was sitting very near the petrol tank, he was splashed all over with petrol. It seemed that all his body was on fire." Major Kono says that he saw Netaji standing very near the plane facing away from it. He was standing erect with his legs apart and arms stretched downwards with clinched fists. He was completely naked and was wearing only his shoes. He did not see any fire on his body. Major Kono goes on to say that while he himself was feeling the heat of the flames 30 metres away, Netaji who was standing a couple of metres away from them seemed to be oblivious of the heat. His face did not show any sign of pain. Then Col. Habibur Rehman moved him away from the burning plane. Major Takahashi gives a somewhat different version. He says that he saw Netaji getting out from the left front portion of the plane. His clothes were on fire and he was trying to take off his coat. Then he says that he (Major Takahashi) went up to Netaji and made him roll on the ground and managed to put out the fire from his clothes. He says that Col. Habibur Rehman was there, but assigns him a passive role. He goes on to say that petrol had splashed only on certain parts of Netaji's clothes and only those patches were burnt. His trousers were burnt only slightly. While other witnesses have said that Netaji had to take off his clothes and was naked, Major Takahashi says that Netaji had his clothes on. As for Netaji's clothes being on fire, all the eye-witnesses who had seen him agree. As for who helped to put out the fire, it seems much more likely that Col. Habibur Rehman should have been the man to have come to the aid of his leader. The version given by Col. Habibur Rehman and supported by the two more observant witnesses, namely, Lt. Col. Nonogaki and Major Kono appears more credible than the version of Major Takahashi. The Ground Engineer Captain Nakamura alias Yamamoto has given a completely different version. He also says that Netaji's clothes were splashed with petrol and had to be stripped, but he claims that it was he (Captain Nakamura alias Yamamoto) who rescued the passengers from the burning plane, and specially Netaji. This version is completely uncorroborated by anybody else, and may perhaps be put down to confused recollection after such a lapse of time.

16. Of the other Japanese inside the plane, passengers and crew, General Shidei could not get out and died inside the plane. It may be of interest to mention that a copy of General Shidei's service record (translated in English) was obtained through the Japanese Foreign Office, a copy, of which is enclosed (Annexure I). It will be seen that the date of his death was 18th August 1945 at Taihoku Airfield. The cause is given as death by war. His ashes were sent to Tokyo a week later through General Tanaka, Chief of General Staff, Burma Army, who passed through Taihoku a week later en route to Tokyo with Dr. Ba Maw, President of Burma. Some of the crew were apparently rescued. There is some doubt about the fate of the two pilots and some of the crew who were initially trapped inside the plane. Captain Nakamura alias Yamamoto definitely says that Pilot Takizawa and Co-pilot Ayoagi perished along with General Shidei, and he helped to bury their entrails and put their ashes in three boxes. But Major Kono says that he heard that Co-pilot Ayoagi had been pulled out. The two Doctors, Yoshimi and Tsuruta, definitely say that they had treated Co-pilot Ayoagi who died later in the hospital. From all this it would appear that General Shidei died instantaneously, One or two others also died with him, but it is not certain who they were. Most likely Major Takizawa, Chief Pilot, was one of them. The rest, passengers and crew numbering about a dozen, were removed within a short time to Nanmon (South Gate) Military Hospital which was a few kilometres away, in motor vehicles, trucks, cars and a peculiar vehicle, called "Shidosha" in Japanese, which was used for starting aeroplane propellers.

17. Before going on with the story of medical treatment in the hospital, account may conveniently be taken here regarding the air crash — whether the crash took place, its cause, and whether there could be any survivor. From the evidence given to the Committee, there is sufficient material to believe that the plane carrying Netaji crashed at Taihoku Airfield early in the afternoon of the 18th August 1945. There is no reason to disbelieve the large number of witnesses, both Japanese and non-Japanese. There is no evidence before us to show that the plane in question did not crash at Taihoku. Unfortunately, no formal enquiry into the air crash was carried out by the Japanese authorities at that time. General Isayama, Chief of the General Staff of the Formosan Army in 1945, was asked about this matter. He first said that since the aeroplane in question did not belong to the Formosan Army, the Headquarters of the Formosan Army had no responsibility to hold an enquiry into the matter. Then he said that it was the duty of the Commander, within whose area an air crash took place, to enquire into, and report it to the higher authorities. He said that in this case a report was submitted to the Imperial General Headquarters by his Staff Officer, Lt. Col. Shibuya, through him. Lt. Col. Shibuya, who was also examined, denied knowledge of any such enquiry, and said that the responsibility of holding it lay entirely with the Air Division concerned. This matter was pursued further by the Committee and a report was obtained from the Japanese Foreign Office to confirm that no official enquiry was held into the air crash by the Japanese authorities (Annexure I). One would have expected a formal enquiry into the air crash as it involved important personalities like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Lt. Gen. Shidei. Perhaps, there was disorganisation following the surrender of Japan on the 15th of August. We referred the available evidence regarding the plane, its condition and the crash, to the Director General of Civil Aviation, Government of India, on our return to Delhi, after placing on record the evidence of Japanese witnesses. The Director General of Civil Aviation had these papers examined by an expert, and the Committee recorded the opinion of Mr. A. M. N. Sastri, an Aircraft Inspector, Accidents Investigation Branch, regarding the accident and its cause. Shri Sastri's opinion was:
"From the statement of witnesses, sketches and photographs, it appears that the aircraft crashed, and after the take-off, within the boundary of the aerodrome. The maximum height attained by the plane might have been anything up to 150 feet. The initial cause of the plane falling to the ground, according to the statement of witnesses, is the breaking away of the propeller and then the engine on the left-hand side. It is not possible to establish the exact cause as to how the propeller came off from the engine from the details available. In the absence of details of construction of the engine and the various control systems, and the maintenance records, and without examining the wreckage, it is not possible to trace the exact defect causing the crash. As observed by Major Kono, one of the witnesses, the engine seems to have been defective and over-speeding at the time of the take-off from Saigon. This appears to have something to do with the crash."

Regarding the effect of the crash and chances of survival, Mr. Sastri has said, "Taking into consideration the starting point of the fire to be from the starboard front as stated by Major Kono and the location of the petrol tank and also the inadequacy of emergency provision, it may be stated that,
(1) those who were in the front could be the worst sufferers;
(2) those who were in the centre left could be seriously injured; and
(3) those who were in the rear could have chances of survival."

He went on to elucidate: "In case of air accident, the survival of passengers or members of the crew is purely a matter of luck. I have come across accidents where in major crashes the occupants survived, whereas in similar accidents they died. It is very difficult to predict anything accurately as far as the survival of passengers in an aircraft accident is concerned."

18. From the evidence given by the witnesses and the opinion of the expert, it is established that there was an aircraft accident at Taihoku on the 18th August 1945 due to some kind of engine trouble, the cause of which cannot be established clearly in the absence of data. As for survivors, there is nothing surprising that seven out of the 13 or 14 persons on board the ill-fated plane survived. It is not a fact that Col. Habibur Rehman alone survived to tell the tale. So far as has been ascertained, the following persons survived:

(1) Lt. Col. T. Sakai,
(2) Lt. Col. S. Nonogaki,
(3) Major T. Kono,
(4) Major I. Takahashi,
(5) Captain K. Arai,
(6) Sergeant Okishta, and
(7) Col. Habibur Rehman.

Of these survivors, the Committee could not examine in person Lt. Col. T. Sakai (1) who was away from Japan. As stated previously, a written statement was obtained from him through the Japanese Foreign Office. Attempts were made to trace Sergeant Okishta (6), but he was not found.