Air India flight AI-405 caught fire on its left wing just before landing at Runway 27 of Delhi airport at 8:30pm on Monday, said reports.
All the 153 people on board including 144 passengers were evacuated safely. However, at least five of them were reported to have received minor injuries. They were given first aid treatment at the airport.
"We didn't see fire, there was a lot of smoke," ANI quoted Rajendra Desai, one of the passengers of AI-405.
A major tragedy was averted as the pilot of the Varanasi-Delhi flight (AI-405) pulled through a safe landing even after it caught fire just before reaching Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, reports said.
The pilot came to know about leak in hydraulic system in air when it was in the process of landing, Civil Aviation Minister Mahesh Sharma told media. He added that emergencies were declared and all fire brigade and security arrangements were made as soon as the pilot informed the air traffic control about the fire outbreak.
According to a report, the fire on the left wing of the aircraft was caused by a hydraulic leak in the nose wheel.
"Air India flight AI 405 from Varanasi to Delhi had an emergency landing here as the pilot reported hydraulic failure. All passengers were evacuated safely, however, some 4-5 of them sustained minor injuries during evacuation," PTI quoted airport sources as saying.
Check out the tweets below:
One of emergency gates didn't open leading to panic situation, several got injured during evacuation: Abhishek Vyas pic.twitter.com/wWnFNK05fe
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2015
Pilot asked us to evacuate aircraft immediately after landing: Rajendra Desai, Passenger who was onboard AI 405 pic.twitter.com/nO3QUv9Hpo
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2015
All emergency gates were opened, all passengers were advised to evacuate from the gateways: Mahesh Sharma pic.twitter.com/izBdTqTh9i
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2015
Passengers got first aid treatment at the Aiport itself; we'll look into it (incident): Ashwani Lohani, AI CMD pic.twitter.com/KU9qTAI1Ha
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2015
Out of 144 passengers on board, total 5 passengers had minor injuries, who have been given first aid: Mahesh Sharma
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2015
AI flight 405 caught minor fire due to hydraulic leak while landing at Delhi Airport; passengers evacuated, flight at runway-27.
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2015
UPDATE: AI flight 405 caught minor fire due to hydraulic leak while landing at Delhi Airport, several injured during evacuation process. — ANI (@ANI_news) September 7, 2015
Air India flight from Varanasi catches fire during landing at Delhi airport, all 153 passengers safe
— NDTV (@ndtv) September 7, 2015