Dubai airport shut down after Emirates accident

An Emirates plane with 300 people on board crash-landed and caught fire in Dubai on Wednesday, shutting down the busy airport, but the authorities said all the passengers were evacuated safely.

 

Footage on social media showed smoke billowing from the aircraft. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, reports The Dawn.

 

“An Emirates plane coming from India has been involved in an accident on landing at Dubai International,” the government's Dubai Media Office said on its Twitter account.

 

“All passengers were evacuated safely and no injuries have been reported so far,” it said.

 

All departures from Dubai International Airport have been halted “until further notice,” it added.

 

Emirates confirmed the incident, saying that the plane was a Boeing 777. “We can confirm flight EK521 from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International,” the carrier said on its Twitter account.