Emirates plane explodes into fireball at Dubai airport, all 300 on board evacuated

DUBAI: It was a miraculous escape for 300 people, including 282 passengers and 18 crew, as an Emirates passenger jet crash landed at the Dubai Airport before exploding into plumes of thick black smoke.

For all the 300 people on board, it was a near death experience as they watched the Emirates Boeing 777 in which they were flown in, erupted into flames clouding the fabled Dubai skyline.

The plane, which had flow from Thiruvananthapuram, touched the runway at the Dubai airport on an emergency landing at 2.15 pm (IST) on August 3. The reasons for the crash are not clear yet, but reports suggest that the engine on the right side caught fire.

“We can confirm flight EK521 from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International,” the Emirates said on its Twitter account.

All flights to the Dubai airport have since been diverted and all take-offs and landings have been suspended. The media office of the Dubai tweeted that all operations, including any departures, from Dubai International have been halted “until further notice.”

“Our main priority at this time is the safety and wellbeing of all involved and full co-operation is being extended to the authorities and emergency services managing the situation,” said a spokesperson of the Emirates airline.

Author Profile

India Writes Network: India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.