Ankara: The engine of a Russian plane with 95 people on board caught fire after landing at Antalya airport in southern Turkey, Turkey's transportation ministry said. All passengers and crew were safely evacuated. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 type aircraft run by Azimuth Airlines had taken off from Sochi and was carrying 89 passengers and six crew members on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.
The pilot made an emergency call after the aircraft landed at 9:34 p.m. local time, and airport rescue and firefighting crews quickly extinguished the fire, according to the statement. No one was hurt, the statement said. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
VIDEO: Russian plane catches fire after landing in Turkey
A video of the incident posted by the aviation news website, Airport Haber, showed flames coming out from the left side of the plane as emergency crews doused the aircraft. Passengers were seen evacuating the plane through an emergency slide, some carrying belongings. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The transportation ministry said efforts were underway to remove the aircraft from the runway. Arrivals at the airport were temporarily suspended while departures were taking place from a military-run runway.
Azimuth Airlines said the plane had made a rough landing owing to wind shear. Russia's Federal Aviation Authority, Rosaviatsiya, said it was investigating the incident. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the aircraft was seven years old. Russia is short of aircraft due to Western sanctions imposed in connection with Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
