Bhubaneswar-Mumbai Air India flight catches fire mid-air

Bhubaneswar: An Air India flight on its way to Mumbai from Bhubaneswar airport caught fire today following which the aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Raipur airport.

As per reports, engine of the Air India flight number AI-670 caught fire 30 minutes after leaving the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) at 5:10 PM. After the emergency landing at Raipur airport, more than 180 passengers were evacuated safely.

Mid-Air Horror Caught On Camera! #Bhubaneswar-Mumbai Air India flight engine catches fire, makes emergency landing at Raipur airport; all passengers safe #OTVExclusive pic.twitter.com/kEN0nMtsC9

— OTV (@otvnews) November 8, 2019

Speaking on the incident, Ollywood actor Debashis Patra, who was on the flight, narrated the ordeal. “Passengers spotted fire on the left engine and it stopped working. Pilot then decided to make an emergency landing at Raipur.”

FIRST VISUALS ON #OTV

Bhubaneswar-Air India Flight No AI-670 makes emergency landing at Raipur; fire reportedly spotted near left engine #Watch Passengers being evacuated; details awaited#BIGBREAKING pic.twitter.com/7gwB9KYlTC

— OTV (@otvnews) November 8, 2019

An eyewitness Biswajit Behera said that after spotting sparks of fire from the left engine, he along with a fellow passenger informed one of the air hostesses.

"While coming out of the washroom, I saw fire coming out of the engine and immediately informed the person sitting next to me. Then we both informed the air hostess who alerted the pilot," said Behera.

Another passenger said, "We started praying to god after we found that the engine caught fire. Finally, after the emergency landing we felt safe."

TENSED! TERRIFIED! RELIEVED!#Watch panic-stricken passengers of Bhubaneswar-Mumbai Air India flight offering prayers as plane approaches runway for landing; all passengers erupt in joy as the flight which caught fire mid-air makes a SAFE emergency landing at Raipur Airport pic.twitter.com/IJNr8waWKH

— OTV (@otvnews) November 8, 2019

Subsequently, the pilot informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) about the issue and asked for emergency landing. Later, all the passengers were evacuated safely after landing at Raipur airport.

Speaking on the fire incident, Director of Raipur airport Rakesh Sahay, said, "We evacuated all the passengers and sent them to the terminal building. Then the technical team reached the spot and inspected the engine. Since the airport was closed for that period, our main aim was to remove the flight from the runaway as early as possible."