emirates
emiratesReuters

An Emirates Boeing 777-300 A6-EMW aircraft flying from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai with 282 passengers and 18 crew members on board made an emergency landing at the Dubai International Airport on Wednesday, Aug. 3. Emirates has confirmed that there have not been any fatalities among the passengers and crew on board the aircraft.

However, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Emirates Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum has said in a press conference that a firefighter died while responding to the aircraft's crash-landing in Dubai.

"We pay tribute to the firefighter who lost his life fighting the blaze. We thank all teams that dealt with the incident," Maktoum said.

See photos of the Emirates Boeing 777 crash-landing at the Dubai airport here

He also said that 13 people were treated for minor injuries following which they left. 

Ten people were also hospitalised following the incident, Associated Press reported, citing the Dubai Media Office.

Of the 300 people on-board, at least 226 were Indians, including crew members. Besides the Indian passengers, there were people from 20 other countries including 24 people from the United Kingdom, 11 from the UAE, six each from the US and Saudi Arabia and two from Australia.

Meanwhile, all the passengers who booked tickets before or on Aug. 3 "will have rebooking, re-issue and cancellation charges waived," Makoum told reporters.

The Boeing 777 aircraft, departed at 10.19 a.m. from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, was scheduled to land at 12.50 p.m. at Dubai International Airport, according to an official statement from Emirates.

"We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe," Emirates Airline said in a tweet.

Eyewitnesses said they saw thick black smoke coming out of the aircraft, which was flight EK521 coming from Thiruvananthapuram in India. The aircraft has apparently suffered serious damages, especially to the fuselage.

Smoke was seen rising from the runway after the aircraft landed and firefighters are currently trying to control the blaze. 

Emirates has released a statement confirming that the incident happened at 12:45 p.m. local time. The Boeing company has also said that their "team is monitoring the situation in Dubai and we'll be working with Emirates to gather more information."

All departure and arrival operations at the Dubai International Airport resumed around 6:30 p.m. local time after a delay of several hours, Maktoum added.

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation or Eurocontrol had earlier confirmed that the Dubai airport will not be accepting any air traffic until further notice.

All flights had been diverted to Maktoum International Airport or Sharjah International Airport, Al Arabiya reported. Take-off and landing of flights were also stopped.

The Thiruvananthapuram airport manager had said that the Emirates would "set up a help desk at the Thiruvananthapuram airport soon," according to ANI.

Citizens can contact on the below given helpline numbers for further information:

United Arab Emirates: 8002111

United Kingdom (UK): 0044203508853

 United States of America (USA): 0018113502081

Thiruvananthapuram Airport: 0471-3377337