Nearly 200 people on board a Delhi-bound aircraft on Sunday had a close shave as the plane caught fire soon after take-off from the airport here and made an emergency landing minutes later, officials said.
The Spice Jet aircraft took off at around quarter past noon and, according to Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh, local administration began receiving calls soon afterwards that it has caught fire.
“Many people, mostly residents of the nearby Phulwari Sharif locality, began making frantic calls upon watching the plane in flames. Thankfully, all 185 occupants are safe,” he told reporters at the airport.
Director of Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport, Anchal Prakash, said arrangements were made for the affected passengers’ travel to their destination by an alternative plane.
