Engine issue on Delhi-Zurich Airbus A330 forces emergency evacuation of 228 passengers, 13 crew members
Swiss airline aircrafts on the tarmac of Cointrin Airport in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 4, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS
Swiss International said that a flight from Delhi to Zurich had to abort its takeoff early on Sunday after an engine issue, adding that four passengers and one crew member were injured.
The airline did not elaborate, but the Economic Times reported that one of the engines had caught on fire as the plane was accelerating down a runway and that the passengers were injured during an emergency evacuation.
“Shortly after 1:00am local time on April 26, an issue occurred with one of the engines during the takeoff of flight LX147 in Delhi. The crew aborted the takeoff and, after assessing the situation, decided as a precaution to evacuate the aircraft,” Swiss International said in a statement.
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It said that it had set up a task force to look into the incident, adding that the injured passengers were taken to hospital, while the crew member had sustained a sprained ankle.
The airline had earlier said that six passengers had been injured but revised the number.
There were 228 passengers, four infants and 13 crew members on board the aircraft, which was an Airbus A330.
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport declared an emergency following the incident, but runway operations have since resumed, said a source familiar with the matter who was not authorised to speak on the issue and declined to be identified.
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In February, a Beechcraft air ambulance crashed in the eastern state of Jharkhand in India with seven people on board, including two crew members. The aircraft was operating a medical evacuation (air ambulance) flight and went down in the Kasaria area of Jharkhand, reportedly deep inside a difficult-to-access forest.
A day after the crash, officials confirmed that all seven people were killed in the crash.
A month prior, the deputy chief minister of India’s wealthiest state of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, was killed, along with four people on board his charter aircraft that went down in flames.
Pawar’s aircraft, travelling from the financial capital of Mumbai, attempted to make an emergency landing in the family stronghold of Baramati, 250 km (155 miles) away, where he was set to canvass in elections.
