Air India flight bound for Kochi catches fire before take-off at Muscat airport; passengers safe
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Muscat: The passengers on board an Air India Express flight bound for Kochi from Muscat Airport have been evacuated just before the take-off after detecting a fire in one of the engines.
There were about 145 passengers on board, including four infants, and six crews, who were shifted to safety in the terminal building.
All the passengers are safe and no injuries have been reported. The reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained.
"A DGCA official said that during taxiing for takeoff, engine number two experienced smoke and fire. An appropriate Checklist was completed after the incident. Slides were deployed and all passengers and Crew were evacuated on the taxiway and all of them were safe and no injuries reported," said the official, adding that passengers have been transported to the terminal building.
Officials said that the passengers were told to evacuate the aircraft on emergency slides when it was supposed to leave for Kochi on Wednesday morning.
