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How Dubai rescued the affected passengers

Dubai - No passenger or crew fatalities were reported. However one firefighter did die during Emirates EK521 rescue operations.

At 4.10pm on Wednesday, Dubai resident Susan John appeared from the arrival hall of Dubai International Airport, Terminal 3. Sitting in a wheelchair with a big smile on her face, it was hard to believe she was one of 282 passengers who narrowly escaped a burning plane just hours before.
"It was a close call but we knew that God was with us. We had the immense support of the crew too," she told Khaleej Times.
Joined by her cousin Dinah Sam and two nephews, 13-year-old Joshua and 10-year-old Joel, all four were passengers on board the Emirates airlines flight, EK 521, which made an emergency landing in Dubai on Wednesday.
Speaking from her wheelchair, she said the 18 crew on board did their upmost to evacuate all passengers "within minutes of landing".
"Some passengers near the exits escaped the plane within a minute using the inflatable evacuation slide."
Despite tears welling in her eyes as she relived the ordeal, John's smile remained. She was travelling from Thiruvananthapuram in India's Kerala state to Dubai on Wednesday.
The Boeing 777 aircraft she was travelling on departed Trivandrum International Airport at 10.19am and was scheduled to land at Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 12.50pm.
But at 12.45pm, Emirates airlines released a statement onTwitter confirming that the aircraft was involved in an "operational incident" upon landing at DXB.
No passenger or crew fatalities were reported. However one firefighter did die during rescue operations. According to eyewitness reports from passengers, the trouble started as the plane came in to land. "As it was landing, the plane started shaking quite a lot. Then when it finally landed it tilted to the side," Susan recalled.
At that point, she said smoke started to fill the aircraft.
"There was panic among the passengers, but the crew were so good. They were risking their lives to save ours."
Rajaram Vaikuntam, who was one of several family members waiting at the airport, said his wife, Rohini Rajaram, and two children (11 and 4) were one of the first to get off the plane.
"They were right by the emergency exit and the kids were evacuated first, within about 45 seconds of stopping, my wife told me."
Vaikuntam's wife had called him from the plane minutes after being rescued by the Civil Defence teams. According to most passengers, the flight was smooth-running up until those last minutes.
Arun Krishnan and Abhilasha P, were among the 300 on board (crew and passengers) who made the miraculous escape.
With Krishnan's wife still clearly shaken by the incident, he described to Khaleej Times how the whole incident unfolded, moments after the plane touched down.
"The first thing I remember is smoke coming into the plane. We were given clear instructions by the crew to stay calm, but people were shouting and screaming, mainly children."
But after just minutes, the whole plane was cleared.
"Despite the panic, the crew really did their best to control the passengers. My wife and I just prayed to God we would be okay."
Originally from Thiruvananthapuram, Krishnan and his wife live in Fujairah.
Casualties, fatalities
Wednesday's incident left 13 passengers with minor injuries, all of which were treated at a local hospital.
Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and group, confirmed the fatality of the firefighter, Jasim Issa Mohammed Hassan.
Originally from Ras Al Khaimah, Hassan was part of the airport civil defence fighting to get the plane fire under control.
He was joined by a team of firefighters from four civil defence stations in Dubai.
An official news bulletin released by Emirates revealed the plane in question was delivered to Emirates in March 2003.
Both the Captain and the First Officer have over 7,000 hours of flying experience each.
Emirates said it is fully collaborating with local authorities to determine the cause of the incident.
The cost of loss
As a result of the incident, Dubai International Airport was closed for five and a half hours (330 minutes). And if calculations by Michael Rudolph, head of aviation regulation and safety at the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), are anything to go by, the incident may have cost Dubai close to $330 million.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Aviation Safety Summit earlier this year, Rudolph had said: "$1 million per minute - that's what it cost the economy of Dubai", when referring to an earlier incident, which saw the airspace above Dubai airport shut.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com