Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Six passengers onboard SWISS Delhi-Zurich flight LX 147 of Sunday morning have been hospitalised after everyone on the aircraft had to be evacuated on the runway at IGIA using emergency slides. The Airbus A330 was on take off roll at about 1.08 am when its engine number one fails and then had a fire breakout. The crew abandoned takeoff and decided to evacuate the aircraft which had 232 passengers, including four infants, and crew members on board, on runway 28. Six passengers suffered injuries and have been taken to Medanta hospital.According to flight tracking site Flightradar24, the aircraft had a speed of 104 knots when the engine failure happened and the crew abandoned takeoff. Runway 28 has been closed for use till the aircraft is removed from there.“We are aware of an incident involving flight LX147 in Delhi. The aircraft involved is an Airbus A330 (HB-JHK). SWISS has established a task force. There were 228 passengers and 4 infants on board. Shortly after takeoff, just after 1 am local time in India, an issue occurred with one of the engines. The crew rejected the takeoff and, following an assessment of the situation, decided as a precaution to evacuate the aircraft,” SWISS said in a statement.“Six passengers (are) currently receiving medical attention, crew (is) unharmed. All passengers and crew (were) evacuated the aircraft via the emergency slides. Six passengers are currently undergoing medical evaluation. For a small number of individuals who were unable to use the slides, stairs were provided.”“Passengers are currently being assisted. Local teams are working intensively to arrange rebookings or hotel accommodation for our passengers. They have received contact cards to ensure we can reach them reliably. Such a situation is stressful for everyone involved. Our local teams are taking care of our passengers on site and are in direct contact with them. We are working closely with the local authorities.”“We are determined to fully understand what led to this incident. SWISS technical specialists will travel to Delhi to inspect the aircraft and initiate the next steps. At the same time, we are working intensively to find swift and suitable onward travel solutions for all passengers. The safety of our passengers and our crew is always our top priority,” the statement added.
