Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Four passengers and a crew member on board a SWISS Delhi-Zurich flight on Sunday morning were injured while being evacuated on a runway at IGI airport using emergency slides as the aircraft had to abandon take-off following an engine fire. The passengers were admitted to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon; the cabin crew member suffered a sprained ankle.The failure of engine number one and subsequent fire breakout in it happened when the SWISS Airbus A330 was operating as LX 147 with 232 passengers (including four infants) and 13 crew members. Since it was a big and potentially dangerous incident, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Board will investigate the case, said senior officials. The aircraft had reached a speed of 104 knots (about 193 kmph) on the take-off roll around 1.08am when the engine failed.Read more: SWISS Delhi-Zurich flight horror: Engine on fire, jammed exit door, botched evacuation; passenger says IGI teams ran like ‘headless chicken’The pilots abandoned takeoff. After coming to a halt, they decided to carry out evacuation on the runway (28/10).Delhi airport said on X that it declared a “full emergency”. “All prescribed safety protocols were promptly executed and passengers were safely evacuated. Airport operations remained unaffected,” it added.In a statement, SWISS said: “Shortly after 1 am local time Sunday, an issue occurred with one of the engines during the takeoff of flight LX147 in Delhi. The crew aborted takeoff and, after assessing the situation, decided as a precaution to evacuate the aircraft. SWISS has established a task force.” “Four passengers (are) in hospital. Our staff are (with them) and closely supporting them for as long as the situation requires. A cabin crew member sustained a sprained ankle. Other crew members are unharmed,” it added.The runway was closed for operations for about three hours till the aircraft was removed there following evacuation of everyone on board. The DGCA is probing this and has informed its EU counterparts about this incident.SWISS says it is “determined to fully understand what led to this incident. This includes, in particular, determining what led to the engine problem. We are aware that such an event can be stressful and traumatic for those affected. Our teams remain in close contact with our passengers and continue to support them even beyond the immediate situation. The safety of our guests and our crew is always our top priority.”The airline says “all passengers were assisted and accompanied by our teams on site. We have accommodated them in hotels and rebooked them onto alternative flights. We were able to find an individual solution for all guests to continue their journey.”Four of the five people were brought to Medanta hospital for emergency assessment and trauma care, with the two later leaving against medical advice, one discharged after initial treatment, and one still under evaluation in the ER, sources said. Sources said final diagnostic findings, including MRI and radiology reports, were still pending, which was why complete injury details had not yet been officially recorded.
