A Saudi Airlines plane caught fire at the Peshawar airport in Pakistan on Thursday, ARY News reported. The passengers had a narrow escape when the landing gear of the aircraft caught fire during the landing at the Peshawar airport on Thursday
Nearly 300 people were onboard the flight from Riyadh enroute to the Pakistani city of Peshawar, airport officials said.
There was no report of any casualty as all 276 passengers and 21 crew members on the plane were safely evacuated using the inflatable slide. Videos of the incident showed the charred landing gear and people evacuating the aircraft using the slide.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Saifullah, air traffic controllers witnessed smoke and sparks emanating from the left-hand side landing gear of the aircraft as it landed and alerted the pilots. At the same time, they informed the airport fire and rescue services.
Another video of the incident, fire tenders could be seen trying to douse the fire in the landing gear.
Reaching the scene, CAA fire vehicles were able to extinguish the flames engulfing the landing gear, a statement read.
“The fire tenders acted in time and immediately controlled the fire in the landing gear, saving the aircraft from a major accident,” Saifullah said, according to PTI.
“All 276 passengers and 21 crew members were safely evacuated with an inflatable slide,” it added.
According to Peshawar airport officials, the airport is operational, and all flights will continue as per their schedules. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board has taken notice of the incident and a team will begin investigation into the incident soon, Geo News quoted sources as saying.