A Russian passenger plane caught fire and was engulfed after landing at the Antalya Airport in Turkey on Sunday. This ended in a rescue of 89 passengers and six crew members in a very dramatic situation. Coming from Russia’s Sochi International Airport, the Azimuth Airlines Sukhoi Superjet 100, luckily, had ensured that every person on board was rescued safely without anyone reporting injuries.
News of the incident started emerging just a few seconds after the aircraft landed on the runway. The videos shared through social media told the story of the pandemonium as people scurry out of the plane, several running in a state of panic with thick smoke and flames billowing from the left engine. Some evacuees were captured using inflatable emergency slides to exit the burning aircraft. The view was shocking, as the aircraft’s body was engulfed by fire.
Fire Extinguished, Passengers Safe
The emergency was responded to promptly by the firefighters, and the fire was successfully extinguished. Authorities speculated that the fire began in the left engine of the aircraft but did not have any information regarding this matter available at the moment. Azimuth Airlines confirmed that the plane experienced a rough landing due to wind shear which might have caused the fire.
Watch the video here:
A Sukhoi Superjet 100-95LR aircraft (RA-89085) from Sochi, Russia caught fire while landing at Antalya airport of Turkey.
The fire in the engine was noticed after stopping on the runway.
The aircraft belonged to the company “Azimut”.
Though fire was extinguished by emergency… pic.twitter.com/YoEadsj14H
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) November 24, 2024
Despite the apparent drama of the situation, no one was reported injured. Suat Seyitoglu is the deputy governor of Antalya and expressed relief on hearing that “all the passengers were evacuated without injury, and thank God, nobody was harmed.”
Temporary Suspension Of Airport Operations
As a precaution, landings at Antalya Airport were temporarily suspended until 3:00 am local time (12:00 am GMT), giving emergency services time to remove the aircraft from the runway and assess the situation. The Turkish State Meteorological Service had previously issued a severe weather alert for the region, warning of heavy storms, which may have played a role in the incident.
The Russian aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, has launched an investigation into the cause of the fire. Images of people evacuating from the crash have appeared around the globe, and with these shocking images circulating, authorities focus on knowing how this happened and reviewing safety protocols.
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