Emirates plane crash-lands at Dubai airport
AFP
DubaiUpdated: Aug 03, 2016, 10:31 PM IST
Flight EK521 was on its way from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai. Photograph:(Twitter)
Follow UsAn Emirates plane with 282 people on board was involved in an accident on landing Wednesday at Dubai airport but all the passengers were evacuated safely, the government said. ?A firefighter was killed while trying to battle the flames, said the carrier's chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said. Fourteen people were admitted to hospital with minor or moderate injuries.
"There was one fatality. It is actually one of the firefighters, a man at Dubai International Airport. But nothing from the people who are on board that aircraft from the passengers and also from the cockpit and cabin crews," confirmed Sheikh Ahmed.
Footage on social media showed smoke billowing from the aircraft.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
"An Emirates plane coming from India has been involved in an accident on landing at Dubai International," the government's Dubai Media Office said on its Twitter account.
"We can confirm flight EK521 from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International," the carrier said on its Twitter account.
Emirates said it had "no further information on what may have caused the accident".
"Our priority remains with the passengers and crew involved," it said.
Footage on social media showed thick black smoke coming out of the centre of the plane while the fuselage appeared to be lying on the runway with the escape slides opened.
The Dubai Media Office said the fire "has been contained," adding that emergency teams at the airport and Emirates are "well trained to deal with such incidents".
The accident comes almost four months after a plane belonging to Dubai's other carrier, flydubai, crashed and burst into flames as it was landing in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, killing all 61 people onboard.
On July 26, an Emirates Boeing 777-300 aircraft heading to the Maldives made an emergency landing in Mumbai because of a "technical fault".
Dubai International is the world's largest hub in terms of international passengers, and is the base for Emirates, from where it serves more than 153 destinations.
Emirates, Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi's Etihad have seized a significant portion of transcontinental travel, capitalising on the geographic locations of their Gulf hubs.
Emirates is the largest single operator of the Boeing 777, as well as the Airbus A380 superjumbo, and has expanded its fleet to 250 aircraft last year.
(AFP)
"There was one fatality. It is actually one of the firefighters, a man at Dubai International Airport. But nothing from the people who are on board that aircraft from the passengers and also from the cockpit and cabin crews," confirmed Sheikh Ahmed.
Footage on social media showed smoke billowing from the aircraft.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
"An Emirates plane coming from India has been involved in an accident on landing at Dubai International," the government's Dubai Media Office said on its Twitter account.
All departures from Dubai International Airport have been halted "until further notice," it added.
Emirates confirmed the incident, saying that the plane was a Boeing 777.Emirates can confirm that there were 282 passengers and 18 crew on board. #EK521
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016
"We can confirm flight EK521 from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International," the carrier said on its Twitter account.
We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe. #EK521
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016
Emirates said it had "no further information on what may have caused the accident".
"Our priority remains with the passengers and crew involved," it said.
Footage on social media showed thick black smoke coming out of the centre of the plane while the fuselage appeared to be lying on the runway with the escape slides opened.
The Dubai Media Office said the fire "has been contained," adding that emergency teams at the airport and Emirates are "well trained to deal with such incidents".
The accident comes almost four months after a plane belonging to Dubai's other carrier, flydubai, crashed and burst into flames as it was landing in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, killing all 61 people onboard.
On July 26, an Emirates Boeing 777-300 aircraft heading to the Maldives made an emergency landing in Mumbai because of a "technical fault".
Dubai International is the world's largest hub in terms of international passengers, and is the base for Emirates, from where it serves more than 153 destinations.
Emirates, Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi's Etihad have seized a significant portion of transcontinental travel, capitalising on the geographic locations of their Gulf hubs.
Emirates is the largest single operator of the Boeing 777, as well as the Airbus A380 superjumbo, and has expanded its fleet to 250 aircraft last year.
(AFP)