KARACHI: The engine of an Islamabad-bound Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, with members of national assembly, federal ministers, and chief justice of Pakistan on board caught fire before take off here on Sunday, Geo News reported.
The flight, PK-308, was taxiing down towards the runway when the fire broke out in one of its faulty engines, sources said.
Declaring emergency, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) cancelled the flight immediately.
Rescue teams were sent in for bringing the fire under control and evacuating the passengers.
Talking exclusively to Geo News, Federal Minister, Maula Bux Chandio, who was on board PK-308, slammed PIA for its mismanagement and utter incompetence.
“Smoke billowing out of the burning engine escaped into fuselage after they opened the emergency exit hatch. It was so asphyxiating in there. I saw many passengers, who were not feeling well at all, gasping for air”, said he.
Another Parliamentarian, Yousuf Talpur, who was also on the plane, picked apart PIA for risking passengers’ lives by using planes which should have been retired by now.
“The entry of this very aircraft we were on board is banned in Europe.” he revealed.
He said the passengers remained trapped in the plane for nearly two hours.
Secretary Production, Gul Mohammad Rind, who was also among the passengers, lamented PIA officials’ apathy at the time of distress.
“No PIA officer bothered to console us. They seemed so indifferent to this whole ordeal. They were pathetic” Rind told Geo News.
He also added that the doors of the plane auto-locked and they could find no way out.
“The captain also locked himself up in the cockpit”, Rind added.
Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) MNA, Shirin Arshad was reported to have fallen sick after smoke filled the passenger area.
“I could not even breathe. It was horrifying. Many sick and old passengers fainted. There was a young hear patient who almost died. Thank God it was over… before it was too late”, said she talking to Geo News.
She said the PIA senior staff was nowhere to be found.
“We were thirsty as hell. No one even offered us drinking water. Our throats were dry. We were looking for something to quench our thirst but to no avail”, she added.
Veteran bureaucrat, Roedad Khan and famed poetess Fehmida Riaz were also aboard the same flight.
Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikar Mohammad Chaudhry, according to eyewitnesses, kept his calm during the emergency, however, he did summon a senior PIA officer at the Karachi airport over the incident.
According to sources, Minister for Defence, Syed Naveed Qamar, taking prompt action, has tasked the PIA authorities with an immediate report over the incident.
Later some of the VIPs including CJ, MNAs and ministers (Maula Bux Chandio, and Yousuf Talpur) were flown to federal capital in another flight.
On the other hand, the rest of the passengers were not so lucky as the the same plane, which caught fire, later flew them to Islamabad after getting clearance form the PIA engineers.
“No passenger was happy about it. They were all scared to death”, eyewitnesses told Geo News.
National flag carrier has a history of technical issues owing to outdated and under-maintained fleet.Ways to remove Facebook fake accounts soughtis this just a co incidence or something thing else in background?i think now they will do something abt PIA…
