Emirates plane crash lands at Dubai airport

(Hayen Ayari via AP).

An Emirates airlines plane from India to Dubai after being gutted by fire due to a mechanical failure at Dubai global airport. After the crash during the activity for safetly evacuate people, a Dubai Firefighter die, responding to the blaze.

The airline said both the captain and the first officer had over 7,000 hours of flying experience each.

The Emirates Boeing 777 flight from Thiruvananthapuram, India to Dubai caught fire when it appeared to “belly flop” onto the landing strip.

The passenger jet was carrying 275 people, including the crew members.

The airport has now resumed arrival operations under a restricted capacity, with arriving flights being given more preference over departures.

Director of General Civil Aviation Authority Saif Al Suwaidi told reporters that the firefighter “lost his life while saving the lives of others”.

All of the 282 passengers and 18 crew escaped with their lives after flight EK521 from Thiruvananthapuram in India was forced into an emergency landing before exploding in a fireball that gutted the fuselage yesterday lunchtime. Five who suffered minor injuries were taken to local hospitals, the airline said. A cabin crew member was hospitalized and was expected to be released Thursday.

In a press conference, Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said he didn’t want to “jump to conclusions” on what had caused the fire and subsequent explosion.

Indian airline Indigo tweeted that all its flights to and from Dubai are cancelled for the day.

“Authorities at Dubai International Airport are dealing with the incident at the moment to ensure safety of all”.

It is letting passengers affected by the disruptions cancel or rebook their tickets for free.

Passengers have said that the pilot had warned them of problems with the landing gear and said that he would be making an emergency landing. Emirates declined to confirm whether the landing gear had been successfully deployed. The passenger list included around 20 nationalties, including 24 Britons.