A flight with 220 passengers onboard made an emergency landing at Srinagar Airport on Wednesday evening as it encountered sudden hailstorm. The officials at the Srinagar Airport said that a flight en route from Delhi to Srinagar experienced bad weather, hailstorm and the pilot concerned reported an emergency to Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Srinagar.
The officials further added that the flight landed safely at 1830 hours.
“All Aircrew and passengers are safe and flight has been declared AOG (Aircraft on Ground) by Airline,” the officials added as quoted by Greater Kashmir.
Aircraft Landed Safely In Srinagar: IndiGo
In a statement, IndiGo said that the flight operating from Delhi to Srinagar encountered a sudden hailstorm en route. It further added that the flight and the cabin crew followed the established protocol, and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar.
“IndiGo flight 6E 2142 operating from Delhi to Srinagar encountered sudden hailstorm en route. The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar. The airport team attended to the customers after arrival of the aircraft, prioritizing their wellbeing and comfort. The aircraft will be released post necessary inspection and maintenance,” the aircraft said in a press statement.
Viral Video Shows Passengers Screaming Onboard
Several videos from inside the plane in which passengers can be heard screaming and praying have gone viral on social media platforms.
Meanwhile, several domestic and international flights to Delhi airport from various airports have been halted or diverted due to the weather conditions in the national capital, reports news agency ANI quoting sources.
How Passengers Onboard Reacted?
A Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation, which included Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose, Nadimul Haque, Mamata Thakur and Manas Bhuyan, was on board the plane.
“It was a near-death experience. I thought my life was over. People were screaming, praying and panicking. Hats off to the pilot who brought us through that. When we landed we saw the nose of the plane had blown up,” Ghose said.
“I was in the plane and heading back home from Srinagar…It was a near-death experience… the nose of the plane is damaged, Owais Maqbool Hakeem (@owaismaqbool) posted on X.
“The Nose and Right side of the plane was damaged… And we were not allowed to see much as airforce police was there,” Hakeem claimed in another post.
