An Emirates airline jet en route to Dubai from India with 282 passengers and 18 crew members on board, including six Americans, made an emergency landing at Dubai International Airport and burst into flames this morning, the company said.
“We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe,” Emirates said in a statement.
But one firefighter was killed while battling the blaze, Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said at a news conference.
‘We are yet to confirm that there were any issues with the Boeing 777’s landing gear, but he said the plane’s inspections were up to date, without providing details on the checkups. The plane’s pilots have more than 7,000 flight hours of experience’, he added in his press statement.
The aircraft departed from Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram in southern India, at 10:19 a.m. local time and was scheduled to land at Dubai International Airport at 12:50 p.m. local time. Emirates said Flight EK521 was involved in an operational incident upon landing.
Dramatic images from the crash began to surface on social media, including video that appears to show the Emirates jet skidding to a stop after the emergency landing before it burst into flames and photos showing a large black smoke escaping from the burning aircraft.
The vast majority of those on board the plane were Indian citizens; 24 were from the United Kingdom. All passengers and crew members were evacuated safely, according to the Dubai government.
