The Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday diverted two of its patrolling ships off West South-West coast of Mumbai and stationed other vessels on standby after an Emirates plane made an emergency landing at the Mumbai airport following detection of smoke on board.
The Boeing 777-300 aircraft bearing flight no EK 652 was flying from Dubai to Male when smoke was detected inside, forcing the pilots to radio Mumbai ATC for permission to land. The plane was carrying 319 people, including the crew.
“Full emergency was declared at 13.59 hours (IST) for flight EK 652 which was diverted to Mumbai. The Boeing 777-300 aircraft was diverted due to smoke observed on board,” a Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said.
Cause unknown
The aircraft landed safely at 2.58 p.m. on the main runway under full emergency conditions. The cause of smoke has not been ascertained.
“The flight was diverted to Mumbai due to a technical fault. The aircraft landed and passengers disembarked safely,” Emirates later said in a statement.
After being informed by the MRCC, the Coast Guard diverted its ships, which were positioned off the coast of Goa.
“We were informed about the emergency at 2.05 p.m. and were monitoring the situation very closely,” said Public Relation Officer of the Coast Guard.
The ships had moved about five nautical miles towards Mumbai when they were informed about the safe landing of the aircraft. The mission was then called off.
“We were relieved. There were apprehensions that something may happen,” a Coast Guard official said.
According to airport officials, passengers were re-boarded at 6.23 p.m. and the aircraft left for its scheduled destination at 7 p.m.
Apologising for the inconvenience, the airline said: “The health and safety of our crew and passengers is of paramount importance.” The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC), which is responsible for air-sea rescue in Mumbai and in the Arabian Sea, said the Mumbai ATC “leaves nothing to chance”.
