A Somali computer programmer has told how a suspected bomb blast tore open the side of a plane and sucked out an elderly passenger to his death at 14,000 feet.

Survivor Hassan Mohamed Nur said the blast shook Daallo Airlines Flight D3159 five minutes after take off from Mogadishu, Somalia, and tore a hole in the jet's fuselage.

Describing the horror, he said the cabin went black and filled with thick smoke as passengers screamed in the confusion - as investigators in the U.S say a bomb 'probably' caused the explosion.

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Horror at 14,000 feet: A explosion ripped a hole in the side of the Airbus A321 just five minutes after it took off from the Somali capital Mogadishu

Blast: A hole measuring six feet by three feet tore through the Airbus A321 fuselage and an elderly passenger in his 60s was sucked out of the cabin

Mr Nur said the passenger, an elderly man, caught fire before he was sucked from his seat and out of the Airbus A321.

‘I saw the passenger, a man in his early 60s, get sucked out of the plane,' he told MailOnline. 'There was a huge bang. A big hole appeared in the side of the jet and the man disappeared through it.

‘One minute he was sat in his seat, the next it he was gone. He’d been sucked out of the plane.

‘People were screaming. We all thought we were going to die.’

Survivor: Hassan Mohamed Nur described the terror on board Daallo Airlines Flight D3159

The charred body of a man, who may have fallen from the plane, was found in Balad, 18 miles from Mogadishu.

Airline officials say two passengers were hurt in the blast, shortly after take off on Tuesday.

One of those injured was an elderly man from Finland, who is in a stable condition in hospital in Mogadishu.

The Somali government says an investigation has begun.

The plane has been moved from the runway to a private hangar for inspection by forensic experts to inspect, Mr Mohamoud added.

He said that foreign technical experts were involved in the inquiry.

The Daallo Airlines flight bound for Djibouti in the Horn of Africa was able to fly back to Mogadishu and land safely and 74 passengers on board were evacuated.

The pilot Vlatko Vodopivec, 64, from Serbia said: 'When we heard a loud bang, the co-pilot went back to the cabin to inspect the damage and I took over the commands as the procedure demands.

'Smoke came into the cockpit, but it was mostly concentrated in the back of the aircraft.'

He added: 'I think it was a bomb. Luckily, the flight controls were not damaged so I could return and land at the airport.

'Something like this has never happened in my flight career. We lost pressure in the cabin. Thank god it ended well.

'It was my first bomb; I hope it will be the last. It would have been much worse if we were higher.'

Two unnamed U.S. government sources said they believe a bomb caused the blast explosion - although Somali civil aviation authority officials say they had found no evidence that a criminal act had caused the explosion.

Mr Nur added he does not believe the blast was caused by a bomb.

‘I blame the cause the bad weather. Imagine if the cause was a bomb, could the plane make a safe landing within 15 minutes after take off?’ he added.

Awale Kullane, Somalia's alternate U.N ambassador, who was on board the flight, said he 'heard a loud noise and couldn't see anything but smoke for a few seconds'.

Carnage: In the blast, which ripped open the side of the cabin, one passenger told MailOnline how thick smoke filled the plane and passengers screamed in the chaos

Blast: The full force of the blast can be seen from the outside of the Airbus A321 Daallo Airlines flight D3159 after it was safely landed at Mogadishu

Damage: A blast blew a huge hole in the side of the plane just five minutes after it took off from Mogadishu

Mr Kullane said he realised 'quite a chunk' of the plane was missing when visibility returned.

Pictures of the aftermath were posted on social media showing frightened passengers putting on oxygen masks.

Another survivor Mohamed Ali said he heard a bang before flames opened a gaping hole in the plane's side.

'I don't know if it was a bomb or an electric shock, but we heard a bang inside the plane,' he said, adding he could not confirm reports that passengers had fallen from the plane.

One of the people on board the flight filmed the aftermath of the explosion where the remaining passengers at calmly until the aircraft returned to the airport.

In a statement Daallo Airlines said the airbus was operated by Hermes Airlines and said the plane 'experienced an incident shortly after take-off'.

'The Aircraft landed safely and all of our passengers were evacuated safely. A thorough investigation is being conducted by Somalia Civil Aviation Authority,' the Daallo statement said.

Athens-based Hermes Airlines provides planes on a 'wet lease' basis, meaning it leases insured planes staffed and serviced by its crew to other carriers.

Somalia faces terror threats from ISIS-linked al-Shabaab, which is responsible for a number of atrocities in the country.

Aviation sources have suggested the aircraft was delayed leaving Mogadishu meaning the suspected bomb, if it was on a timer, went off at a lower altitude, giving the passengers on board a greater chance of survival.

John Goglia, former member of the US National Transportation Safety Board, said only a bomb or a pressurisation blow out caused by fatigue could cause such a hole in the side of the aircraft.

Cabin crew moved the remaining passengers to the front and rear of the aircraft to keep it balanced for landing

Two people are reported to have been injured after the fire broke out on the Daallo Airlines plane

Djibouti-bound Daallo Airlines flight D3159 pictured after a blast blew a hole in the side of the cabin on Tuesday

However, the black soot around the hole would indicate a bomb.

He said the incident happened before the aircraft hit its cruising altitude which would reduce the possibility of a pressurisation event.