Emirates plane from India ‘crash lands’ in Dubai

All flights temporarily suspended at Dubai International Airport

DUBAI: An Emirates plane that came from Thiruvananthapuram, India bound for Dubai made an emergency landing at the Dubai International Airport on Wednesday after a fire engulfed the aircraft in mid-air. All 282 passengers and 18 crew are safe.

All flights at the Dubai International Airport are temporarily suspended for now. Emirates Airline said the delay could last at least four hours.

“We are expecting a 4-hour network extended delay; more information will be available on the Emirates website and social media channels,” the airline posted on its Twitter account.

“Emirates can confirm that today, 3rd August 2016, flight EK521 travelling from Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram, India to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International Airport. There were 275 passengers and crew on board,” it noted.

The plane that caught fire around 12:45 pm Wednesday is a Boeing 777-300 delivered in March of 2003.

“Our top priority at this time is the safety and wellbeing of all involved, and full cooperation is being extended to the authorities and emergency services managing the situation,” the airline said in one of its tweets.

The plane took off from Trivandrum International Airport in India at around 6 am.

The 300 passengers and crew were from the following countries: 226 – India; 24 – UK; 11 – UAE; 6 – US; 6 – Saudi Arabia; 5 – Turkey; 4 – Ireland; 2 – Australia; 2 – Brazil; 2 – Germany; 2 – Malaysia; 2 – Thailand; 1 – Croatia; 1 – Egypt; 1 – Bosnia & Herzegovina; 1 – Lebanon; 1 – Philippines; 1 – South Africa; 1 –Switzerland, and: 1 – Tunisia.

Emirates said dedicated telephone lines are now active for family members of the passengers and crew:
UAE – 8002111; UK – 00442034508853; US – 0018113502081