Reports I’ve read suggest it was the Number 2 (top) engine with the issue, possibly suffering a compressor. That would explain the continued turn, as the right engine would still be providing off-centre thrust.
There was nothing the crew could do to save the plane, the fire was too extensive. Even without losing a second engine, there was no way to get the plane on the ground in time to be survivable. But if they hadn’t lost a second engine, and with the engine mounting pylon still attached from the engine they did lose, they would have had control of the plane. With 2 engines, a fully loaded MD-11 can still climb out on takeoff and give the crew a chance to find a place to put it down away from the general population.
They just did not have luck on their side.