Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
Dakar, May 9: A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
“Our plane just caught fire,” wrote Malian musician Cheick Siriman Sissoko in a post on Facebook that showed passengers jumping down the emergency slides at night as flames engulfed one side of the aircraft at the airport in Dakar. In the background, people can be heard screaming.
Transport Minister El Malick Ndiaye said the Air Sénégal flight operated by TransAir was headed to Bamako, in neighbouring Mali, late Wednesday with 79 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew.
The airport reopened on Thursday morning after closing overnight.
The injured were being treated at a hospital, while the others were taken to a hotel to rest. Boeing referred a request for comment to the airlines.
It was the third incident involving a Boeing airplane this week. Also on Thursday, 190 people were safely evacuated from a plane in Turkey after one of its tires burst during landing at a southern airport, Turkey's transportation ministry said.
The company has been under intense pressure since a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration in February gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to fix quality problems and meet safety standards for building planes after the accident.
The incident has raised scrutiny of Boeing to the highest level since two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
About a dozen relatives of passengers who died in the second crash have been pushing the US government to revive a criminal fraud charge against the company by determining that Boeing violated terms of a 2021 settlement.
In April, a Boeing whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, testified at a congressional hearing that the company had taken manufacturing shortcuts to turn out 787s as quickly as possible that could lead to jetliners breaking apart.
The Aviation Safety Network, which tracks airline accidents, described the plane as a Boeing 737-38J.
The network published photos of the damaged plane in a grassy field, surrounded by fire suppressant foam, on X, formerly known as Twitter. One engine appeared to have broken apart and a wing was also damaged, according to the photos.
ASN is part of the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group that aims to promote safe air travel and tracks accidents.
🚨🚨Les faits se sont déroulés à 01h 14 minutes. Le ministre El Malick Ndiaye a ordonné au Bureau d’Enquete et d’Analyse (BEA) d’ouvrir une enquête pour déterminer les causes de l’accident. pic.twitter.com/sJTtfMmH2s
— mcsenegal1 (@McSenegal221) May 9, 2024
Transair Senegal Boeing 737-300 (6V-AJE, built 1994) was seriously damaged when it overran the landing runway at Dakar-Intl Airport(GOBD), Senegal. The left wing and engine caught fire but all 73 passengers were able to evacuate alive. There was unspecified number of injuries.… pic.twitter.com/SysgTSL3b8
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) May 9, 2024
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Tension in Koppal village over Ambedkar flag during fair; five arrested
Koppal: Tension prevailed in Halwarti village of Koppal taluk after a clash reportedly broke out between members of Dalit and upper-caste communities over the hoisting of an Ambedkar flag during the Beeralingeshwara fair.
According to police, a verbal argument between youths from the two communities escalated into a physical confrontation, leading to unrest in the village.
In a related development, it has been alleged that members of the upper-caste community entered the house of a Dalit youth, identified as Gavisiddappa Hosamani, damaged the door and vandalised the front portion of the house.
As a precautionary measure, additional police personnel have been deployed in the village to maintain law and order.
Police said a complaint has been registered at the Koppal Rural Police Station and five persons have been arrested in connection with the incident. Further investigation is under way.
