It was a brush with death for 282 passengers and 18 crew members, who were on board an Emirates flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai (EK521), which crash-landed at the Dubai International Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
Six people were injured in the accident. Two passengers spoke to The News Minute, recounting the horror that unfolded minutes before the flight crash-landed.
What Happened Inside Flight EK521
41-year-old Sai Bhaskar, who was travelling to the US from Kollam in Kerala, via Dubai, narrates what happened minutes before they were evacuated.
I was sitting in one of the rows at the rear-end of the flight. Everything was fine when the descent started, and there were no announcements made about any glitch. We believed it would be a normal landing.Sai Bhaskar, Passenger, Emirate Flight EK521
“But just as we were landing, there was a giant thud and the plane tilted to the left. The plane was filled with smoke immediately. Oxygen masks dropped down and all emergency exits doors were opened. But there was too much smoke and it was blinding the passengers, so not all the exits were being used. Everyone started exiting from the emergency door at the back, at least that’s what I saw. Everyone came to the rear-end of the plane.”
It was because of the sunlight that we were able to see which side was safe to exit, if this would have happened at night then we could have all died. Many people were collapsing from the smoke but we were all able to get out of the aircraft.Sai Bhaskar
“I was too scared, we could not even think, but we all knew we had to get out. The crew evacuated the plane first. All of us stepped out, and then the crew came out. We were about 100 metres away from the plane where there was an explosion from the aircraft. The crew did an amazing job of coordinating the evacuation. They were calm and did not shout in panic, they managed to get everyone out,” Bhaskar added.
Another passenger Dr Shaji said that smoke filled the aircraft as the flight landed on the runway.
It was after we got out through the emergency exit that one of the wings blasted. Apart from minor injuries, there are no other serious causalities. I lost my footwear in the process and ended up burning my feet since it was too hot outside.Dr Shaji, Passenger, Emirate Flight EK521
He added:
My wife has sustained minor injuries, as she fell down on her face while climbing out of the flight.
(This article was published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)