Dubai: An Emirates plane flying from Kerala with 300 people on board caught fire after landing here on Wednesday, leading to the closure of Dubai airport, officials said.

“Emirates can confirm that an incident happened at Dubai International Airport at about 12.45 p.m,” the airline tweeted. It said all passengers were evacuated and there were no reported injuries. Emirates confirmed that 282 passengers and 18 crew on board, in a statement posted to its official Facebook page.

All passengers were reportedly escorted to safety. Dubai’s Media office confirmed that emergency response teams at the airport fully extinguished the fire on the plane nearly two hours after the crash-landing.

An airport official said in Thiruvananthapuram that the flight EK521 took off at 10.25 a.m., 20 minutes behind schedule. Another twitter account said one of the engines appeared to have fallen after the violent landing.

Dubai airport was immediately closed for landings and take offs. Flights headed to Dubai were diverted. The aircraft involved in the accident is a Boeing 777-300 that was delivered in March 2003.

Emirates Media Statement

Emirates can confirm that today, 3rd August 2016, flight EK521 travelling from Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram, India to Dubai has been involved in an operational incident upon landing at Dubai International Airport. There were 282 passengers and 18 crew on board.

The nationalities of passengers and crew on board are:

226 – India
24 – UK
11 – UAE
6 – US
6 – Saudi Arabia
5 – Turkey
4 – Ireland
2 – Australia
2 – Brazil
2 – Germany
2 – Malaysia
2 – Thailand
1 – Croatia
1 – Egypt
1 – Bosnia & Herzegovina
1 – Lebanon
1 – Philippines
1 – South Africa
1 – Switzerland
1 – Tunisia

The Boeing 777 aircraft, departed at 10.19am from Trivandrum International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50pm at Dubai International Airport.

We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe.

We are expecting a 8-hour network wide delay, more information will be available on the Emirates website and social media channels.

The main priority remains with those involved and offering support to concerned family and friends. Dedicated telephone lines are now active for family members:

UAE – 8002111
UK – 00442034508853
US – 0018113502081

For members of the media, the Emirates Press Office in Dubai is now activated: 00971 4 708 37 13