Jassim Essa Al Baloushi, who died while responding to the Emirates plane fire at Dubai airport.
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There were almost 300 people on board, a lot of them from Kerala. Thirteen people had minor wounds.
When their plane crash-landed at the Dubai airport, sliding on its belly to a halt before going up in flames, some of the passengers on the Emirates flight tried to pull out their bags from overhead bins despite the emergency.
A cellphone video shot from inside the aircraft shows some passengers frantically shouting and shoving while others pop open luggage compartments and try to grab their belongings.
Air India on Wednesday diverted nine of its Dubai-bound flights from different Indian cities to nearby airports like Sharjah and Al Maktoum International Airport.
All IndiGo passengers are requested to check their respective flight status via customer relations or Twitter/Facebook or the airline’s web portal, it said.
The reaction of passengers and crew on an Emirates jetliner, seconds after the plane had crash-landed and seconds before it the fuselage was engulfed in a ball of flame, is caught on video obtained by Reuters.
Earlier in the day at 0300 am, Dubai authorities informed that “narrow-body aircraft” operations will be shifted to Sharjah airport from Dubai, AIE sources told PTI.
Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said Dubai airport will allow only bigger jets to land till 7am on Friday due to capacity constraints at the moment.
Fourteen other people were treated in hospital for their injuries.
India’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates said that many passengers were in shock after the ordeal.
A total of 19,000 passengers were affected by disruptions caused by the crash before operations resumed at 6.30pm on Wednesday.
Emirates Airline flight also added that we will update the Emirates website and social media channels as more information becomes available.
Emirates flight EK521 made the emergency landing following what is being described as an operational incident upon landing on Wednesday, August 3 at 12:45 local time.
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Dubai International Airport is one of the world’s busiest airports for International passengers and a major transport hub.
