Panic At IGI: Swiss Air's Delhi-Zurich Flight Engine Fails, Catches Fire During Takeoff At Delhi Airport; 6 Passengers Injured

New Delhi: Six passengers were injured and ​hospitalized after a ‌Swiss Air flight from Delhi to ​Zurich aborted ​takeoff and was evacuated ⁠on the ​runway at the Indira ​Gandhi International Airport early Sunday. 

The ​incident occurred when one of ‌the ⁠aircraft's engines failed and caught fire during the ​takeoff ​roll, ⁠prompting the crew to stop ​the aircraft ​and ⁠initiate an emergency evacuation, the ⁠report ​said.

The Airbus A330 was mid-takeoff around 1:08 am when its number one engine failed and caught fire. Aborting the departure, the crew initiated an emergency evacuation of the 232 people on board- including four infants- directly onto runway 28. 

Six passengers sustained injuries during the exit and were transported to Medanta Hospital for treatment. 

Data from Flightradar24 indicates the aircraft was traveling at 104 knots when the engine failed, prompting the crew to abort the takeoff. Runway 28 remains closed to all traffic until the plane can be cleared from the area.

“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.