icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
3 Aug, 2016 09:27

Firefighter killed as Emirates jet engulfed in flames crash-lands in Dubai (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Firefighter killed as Emirates jet engulfed in flames crash-lands in Dubai (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

An Emirates plane carrying 300 people caught fire on a runway at Dubai International Airport after crash-landing. While there were no fatalities among passengers and crew, a firefighter was killed while battling the blaze.

Emirates said flight EK521 was involved in an "accident" that occurred at 12:45pm local time (08:45 GMT) on Tuesday.

Photos on social media showed smoke billowing from the aircraft, which crash-landed on arrival from Thiruvananthapuram, India.

The fire has since been completely extinguished, according to the Dubai government's press office.

A firefighter died while dealing with the emergency, the local civil aviation authority later reported.

Emirates has also confirmed that "all passengers and crew are accounted for and safe." 

The airline said that 300 people were on board, including 282 passengers and 18 crew members.

Thirteen people received minor injuries in the incident, Emirates CEO Ahmed bin Saeed said, adding that all of them had received medical assistance and “left after a short time.”

The airport initially suspended departures, but those flights have since been resumed. Priority will first be given to larger aircraft. 

Emirates has also said it is expecting an eight-hour network-wide delay following the incident. 

The plane involved is a Boeing 777-300 A6-EMW aircraft, according to Flightradar24. It has reportedly been in service for 13 years.

According to air traffic control recordings cited by Aviation Herald, controllers in Dubai reminded the crew to lower the landing gear as it came into approach.

Shortly after that reminder, the crew announced it was aborting the landing to "go around," which is a routine procedure for pilots. 

However, the aircraft came to a rest near the end of the runway instead, according to Aviation Herald.

It is not clear whether the landing gear was extended when the plane touched the ground. However, a family of passengers told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the equipment did not deploy and the plane landed on its belly.

Boeing said in a statement that it is monitoring the situation and will be working with Emirates to gather more information.

Emirates is the largest company in the Middle East, with more than 3,000 weekly flights to 161 destinations on six continents.

READ MORE: Emirates fatigue reports show UAE airlines pushing crews to limits (RT EXCLUSIVE)

Podcasts
0:00
23:13
0:00
25:0