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EK521: How the story unfolded on social media

by

Sarakshi Rai

Published: Wed 3 Aug 2016, 2:42 PM

Last updated: Wed 3 Aug 2016, 11:58 PM

Emirates flight EK521 took off from Trivandrum in India without incident but while landing at Dubai International Airport on August 3, 2016 at about 12.45pm local time there was an emergency situation. This tweet by the airline was shared more than 2,675 times. 
The Boeing 777 aircraft, departed at 10.19am from Trivandrum International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50pm at Dubai International Airport.
The news broke at 1pm local time in Dubai that a 'crash landing' took place and there was widespread panic on social media. However the only information available on the Emirates handle was that there was an incident while landing. 
Social media photos show thick plumes of black smoke rising from the burning plane.
As soon as news broke of the incident, Emirates airlines official social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter changed their logo to a grey and white picture. 
At 2pm Emirates put out a tweet saying, "We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe. #EK521"
Emirates confirmed that there were 282 passengers and 18 crew on board. They also confirmed that emergency response teams at Dubai Airport had fully extinguished the fire on the Emirates plane. 
Twitter users were commenting on the Airline's well-trained crew for quickly and safely evacuating all passengers in the Dubai crash. One user Simba DeRozen tweeted that 300 people were evacuated safely from the plane in 46 seconds. 
The nationalities of the passengers were announced on Facebook at 3pm. Majority of the passengers-226 to be exact- are from India.

Dubai Airports offered refreshments across all terminals throughout the day. Passengers were just asked to present their ticket or boarding card.
At 4.10pm Emirates put out an official statement on their website and Youtube page by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates' Chairman & Chief Executive on incident involving EK521. "We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe," he said.
At 5.30pm, Emirates cancelled 42 flights at Dubai International. 
Dubai Media office tweeted at 5.50pm that specialized teams at Dubai Airports worked simultaneously to ensure safety & comfort of all passengers following the incident.  The media office also tweeted that DXB will resume departure operations starting 18.30 UAE local time with larger aircraft given first priority.
They also tweeted that all Emirates passengers who had purchased tickets on or before 3rd August will have rebooking; re-issue & cancellation charges waived.
Another twitter user Adam Minter tweeted that, "nobody died in that Emirates crash is a testament to how well Boeing has engineered safety in the 777. Amazing."
Flight radar tweeted at 6.39pm that Dubai International Airport has resumed operations. Fedex flight FX7 Dubai to Milan was the first to depart. 
Air Live Net also tweeted that operations recommence at Dubai and Emirates flight EK236 from Chicago was the first to land.
The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) confirmed at 7.22pm that a fire fighter Jasim Issa Mohammad Hassan attached to Dubai Airports lost his life during firefighting operations.
"He died while doing his duty and while evacuating the people to safety. On behalf of the General Civil Aviation Authority, I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family of deceased. I salute his ultimate sacrifice that kept many from harm's way. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family", said the director general of GCAA.
At the 7.30pm press conference Ahmed bin Saeed Al Makhtoum said:
He also paid tribute to the pilot who was instrumental in saving the passengers lives.
He also informed the press conference that:

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Sarakshi Rai

Published: Wed 3 Aug 2016, 2:42 PM

Last updated: Wed 3 Aug 2016, 11:58 PM

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