An Emirates Airline flight from Thiruvananthapuram crash-landed at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday, the Dubai government media office said on its official Twitter account, adding that there were no reported casualties yet.
Emirates can confirm that an incident happened at Dubai International Airport on 3rd August 2016 at about 12.45pm local time.
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) August 3, 2016
All passengers were evacuated safely and no injuries have been reported so far
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) August 3, 2016
Pictures purportedly showing the incident posted on social media showed a thick black plume of smoke rising from the top of a burning plane.
The moment #EK521 came to a halt at DXB after landing from India. Appears to show one engine parted with aircraft⚠ pic.twitter.com/kSd4PtTGKe
— Flight Alerts ⚠ (@FlightAlerts777) August 3, 2016
The Twitter account of live air traffic monitor Flightradar24 said takeoffs and landings at Dubai had been suspended because of the incident, adding that the plane involved was a Boeing 777-300 A6-EMW. The flight involved was EK521 coming from Thiruvananthapuram, it said.
Following the accident, Emirates airlines said that it is expecting a 4-hour network wide delay.
A spokesperson for operator Dubai Airports said all passengers and crew had been safely evacuated and the emergency services were managing the situation. Emirates Airline said there had been 275 passengers and crew aboard the plane.
In a statement, the airlines confirmed that "today flight EK521 travelling from Thiruvananthapuram, to Dubai was involved in an accident at Dubai International Airport. There were 275 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 777 aircraft which departed at 10.19 am from Thiruvanthapuram International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50 pm at Dubai International Airport.
We can confirm flight EK521 from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International.
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016
There were 275 passengers and crew on board. Our main priority now is the safety and well-being of all involved.
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016
The statement adds that the airline is in the process of opening its customer assistance line. "At this stage we have no further information on what may have caused the accident. Our priority remains with the passengers and crew involved."
We are extending full co-operation to authorities & emergency services managing the situation. #EK521
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016
We will update the Emirates website & social media channels as more information becomes available. #EK521
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016
The Dubai based airlines operates from nine Indian cities.