With almost 250 passengers on board! Plane has to turn around due to fire in engine
Rome - Excitement on board: shortly after taking off from Italy's capital Rome, a plane operated by Chinese airline Hainan Airlines had to return due to a fire in one of its engines. The airline wrote on the online platform X about a bird strike in the right-hand turbine.
The plane landed safely on Sunday morning and all passengers left the aircraft in an orderly manner, Hainan Airlines added.
According to media reports, there were 249 passengers and 16 crew members on board HU438. None of them suffered injuries in the emergency.
The plane had departed from Fiumicino airport in eastern Rome in the morning, bound for Shenzhen in southern China. According to the reports, the crew reacted to the outbreak of the fire with a so-called rapid fuel dump over the sea.
Data available on the internet showed that the plane made several loops over the Mediterranean before returning just over an hour after take-off.
Videos show plane with burning engine in the sky
According to Italian reports, the coast guard was also alerted during the incident. A sailor had reported the plane to the authorities and flames could be seen coming from its engine, it was said.
A coast guard vessel searched the sea for possible aircraft parts and residue from the fuel that had been dumped, but without any results.