Emirates Airline flight from India crash-lands at Dubai airport
Dubai airport resumed flights on Wednesday after a nearly four-hour shutdown
No casualties have been reported thus far. PHOTO: TWITTER/ @THE STRAITS TIMES
DUBAI:
An Emirates plane with 275 people on board was involved in an accident on landing Wednesday at Dubai airport but all the passengers were evacuated safely, the government said.
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 passengers were evacuated safely and no injuries have been reported so far," it said.
Emirates confirmed the incident, saying that the plane was a Boeing 777.
"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.
"There were 275 passengers and crew on board. Our main priority now is the safety and well-being of all involved," it said.
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 escape slides opened.
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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".
Later on, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum in a video statement posted on the airlines' Facebook account said, “There was no fatality among our passengers and crew. Our first priority in this case is the well-being of our passengers and the crew and answer queries from their families.”
“We have activated our emergency centre,” the Emirates chairman said, adding they have extended full cooperation to authorities and emergency services.
Further, Sheikh Ahmed said, “Our thoughts are with everyone involved and I request you to respect privacy of all our passengers.”
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.
Airport flights resume after Emirates accident
Dubai airport resumed flights on Wednesday after a nearly four-hour shutdown caused by an accident involving an Emirates plane, authorities said.
"Dubai International Airport resumes operations for departure & arrival flights," said the government's official Twitter account.
An Emirates plane with 275 people on board was involved in an accident on landing Wednesday at Dubai airport but all the passengers were evacuated safely, the government said.
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 passengers were evacuated safely and no injuries have been reported so far," it said.
Emirates confirmed the incident, saying that the plane was a Boeing 777.
"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.
"There were 275 passengers and crew on board. Our main priority now is the safety and well-being of all involved," it said.
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 escape slides opened.
Two injured as charter plane crash-lands at Karachi airport
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".
Later on, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum in a video statement posted on the airlines' Facebook account said, “There was no fatality among our passengers and crew. Our first priority in this case is the well-being of our passengers and the crew and answer queries from their families.”
“We have activated our emergency centre,” the Emirates chairman said, adding they have extended full cooperation to authorities and emergency services.
Further, Sheikh Ahmed said, “Our thoughts are with everyone involved and I request you to respect privacy of all our passengers.”
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.
Airport flights resume after Emirates accident
Dubai airport resumed flights on Wednesday after a nearly four-hour shutdown caused by an accident involving an Emirates plane, authorities said.
"Dubai International Airport resumes operations for departure & arrival flights," said the government's official Twitter account.