A number of Emirates flights have been cancelled, delayed and diverted this morning after one of the airline’s Boeing 777s crash landed at Dubai Airport before catching fire.
Despite the state of the aircraft upon touch down, the airline said there were no fatalities amongst the 282 passengers (including two Australians) and 18 crew members on Flight EK521, however, it has been confirmed that one brave firefighter was killed while tackling the flames.
Emirates’ Chairman and Chief Executive H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum attributed guests survival to the “quick evacuation” of staff and passengers.
In a media conference, the CEO told media that the airline is working with “local authorities to determine the cause of accident” and refused to speculate on what might have happened as it arrived into Dubai from India.
He did stress that the aircraft was only around 13 years old (delivered in 2003) and both pilots were competent in their roles with over 17,000 hours of flying experience.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers and we really appreciate their understanding and show of support.”
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive
In addition to finding the cause of the crash, the airline is also working to get flights back on track, which were disrupted due to the five hour closure of Dubai International Airport.
The airline has published a list of disrupted flights on its Facebook page, they include; EK425 from Perth and EK415 from Sydney, which have been diverted to Dubai World Central; as well as EK433 from Brisbane, which was diverted to Sharjah International Airport.
Evacuation video of #Emirates #EK521 from crash landing #Dubai #Airport this afternoon. Brave #CabinCrew pic.twitter.com/kEZuFh2aa6
— Rehan Quereshi (@rehanquereshi) August 3, 2016
Meanwhile, footage taken inside the Emirates Boeing 777 has leaked online, showing terrified passengers desperately trying to escape the burning aircraft.
Posted by passenger Rehan on Twitter, the traveller credited “Brave #CabinCew” for assisting guests off the plane.
This page will be updated as more news comes to hand.
