A flight has crash landed at Dubai International Airport this morning before exploding into a fireball on the runway.
Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the craft after the Emirates Boeing 777, carrying 282 passengers and 18 crew members, was forced to emergency land.
Incredibly, all passengers are reported to have been evacuated safely before the plane was engulfed in flames.
The captain is believed to have sent out and emergency signal in the moments before the plane was preparing to land.
A pilot who witnessed flight EK521 landing told NDTV the plane came in ‘really hard’ and hit the ‘runway tail’. A passenger on another plane said she could see emergency chutes deployed.
In one video posted online a woman with a British accent can be heard gasping as she watched from the terminal.
“Are there people in that plane? Oh my god, the smoke’s getting darker,” she says.
VIDEO: Smoke and fire engulf plane that crash landed at Dubai Airport
(Via @rsddar) pic.twitter.com/yM6zH6SkMc
— The Int’l Spectator (@intlspectator) 3 August 2016
Emirates said in a statement: “Emirates can confirm that today, August 3 2016, flight EK521 travelling from Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram, India to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International Airport. There were 282 passengers and 18 crew on board.
“The Boeing 777 aircraft, departed at 10.19am from Trivandrum International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50pm at Dubai International Airport.
“We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe.
“We are expecting a four-hour network wide delay, more information will be available on the Emirates website and social media channels.’
Ek flying from India to Dubai made an emergency landing at Dubai Airport All passengers have been escorted to safety pic.twitter.com/Lkp3s9LSDf
— محمود العوضي (@MahmoodAlAwadi) August 3, 2016