Emirates Plane Crash-Lands at Dubai Airport

The passengers and crew on board survived, but one firefighter was killed.

ByABC News
August 3, 2016, 12:24 PM

— -- An Emirates airline jet en route to Dubai from India with 282 passengers and 18 crew members on board, including six Americans, made an emergency landing at Dubai International Airport and burst into flames this morning, the company said.

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

But one firefighter was killed while battling the blaze, Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said at a news conference today.

Saeed declined to confirm that there were any issues with the Boeing 777's landing gear, but he said the plane's inspections were up to date, without providing details on the checkups. The plane's pilots have more than 7,000 flight hours of experience, he added.

The aircraft departed from Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram in southern India, at 10:19 a.m. local time and was scheduled to land at Dubai International Airport at 12:50 p.m. local time. Emirates said Flight EK521 was "involved in an operational incident upon landing."

Dramatic images from the crash began to surface on social media, including video that appears to show the Emirates jet skidding to a halt after the emergency landing before it burst into flames and photos showing a large plume of black smoke billowing from the burning aircraft.

The vast majority of those on board the plane were Indian citizens; 24 were from the United Kingdom. All passengers and crew members were evacuated safely, according to the Dubai government.

Emergency response teams have been activated and all passengers and crew have been safely evacuated.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) August 3, 2016

Dubai Airports, the owner of Dubai International, announced via its official Twitter account that all departing flights were being delayed because of the incident. The airport reopened at 6:30 p.m. local time today. Emirates airline said it expected an eight-hour network delay.

Dubai International Airport services about 78 million passengers annually, making it the third-busiest airport worldwide in overall passenger traffic and the busiest in terms of international passengers, according to Airports Council International.

ABC News' Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.

Dubai Airports, the owner of Dubai International, announced via its official Twitter account that all departing flights were being delayed because of the incident. The airport reopened at 6:30 p.m. local time today. Emirates airline said it expected an eight-hour network delay.

Dubai International Airport services about 78 million passengers annually, making it the third-busiest airport worldwide in overall passenger traffic and the busiest in terms of international passengers, according to Airports Council International.

ABC News' Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.

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