Emirates flight from Kerala in India catches fire in Dubai

• "Emirates can confirm that an incident happened at Dubai International Airport at about 12.45 pm," the airline tweeted
• An airport official said in Thiruvananthapuram that the flight EK521 took off at 10.25 am, 20 minutes behind schedule
• Dubai airport was immediately closed for landings and take offs. Flights headed to Dubai were diverted

An Emirates plane flying from Kerala with 275 people on board caught fire after landing here on Wednesday, August 3, leading to the closure of Dubai airport, officials said.

"Emirates can confirm that an incident happened at Dubai International Airport at about 12.45 pm," the airline tweeted. It said all passengers were evacuated and there were no reported injuries.

But Dhanya Rajendran, Editor-in-chief at The News Minute, an online news portal, posted a photograph of the plane billowing smoke on the runway and said, quite a few passengers had been injured.

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Emergency vehicles rushed to the aircraft.

An airport official said in Thiruvananthapuram that the flight EK521 took off at 10.25 am, 20 minutes behind schedule.

Another twitter account said one of the engines appeared to have fallen after the violent landing.

Dubai airport was immediately closed for landings and take offs. Flights headed to Dubai were diverted.

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The aircraft involved in the accident is a Boeing 777-300 that was delivered in March 2003. (IANS)

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