Emirates Jet Crash-Lands at Dubai Airport with 300 Aboard; Firefighter K1.lled in Response
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Emirates passenger jet carrying 300 people crash-landed and caught fire on the runway at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday. While all passengers and crew evacuated safely, officials confirmed that one firefighter died while battling the blaze.
Emirates Flight EK521, a Boeing 777 arriving from Thiruvananthapuram in southern India, came down hard at approximately 12:45 p.m. local time. The aircraft skidded across the tarmac and burst into flames, sending thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky.
Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline, announced the firefighter’s death during a press briefing, praising emergency personnel for their rapid and decisive action. He also confirmed that 10 people were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries.
“Our first priority remains the care and well-being of our passengers and our crew,” Al Maktoum said. All 282 passengers and 18 crew members were accounted for.
Rapid Evacuation Averts Catastrophe
Witness accounts and images from the scene showed passengers escaping down emergency inflatable slides just moments before explosions gutted the fuselage.
Passenger Iype Vallikadan told the Associated Press that the flight crew warned travelers of landing-gear trouble as the plane descended toward Dubai, alerting them that an emergency landing would be required. Once the aircraft touched down and ground to a halt, flight attendants moved swiftly to open the exits, orchestrating a complete evacuation within minutes under smoke-filled conditions.
The passenger manifest reflected a diverse international manifest:
India: 226 passengers
United Kingdom: 24 passengers
United Arab Emirates: 11 passengers
United States & Saudi Arabia: 6 passengers each
Turkey: 5 passengers
Ireland: 4 passengers
Other nations: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, the Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, and Tunisia.
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