A Mumbai-bound Jet Airways plane carrying 161 people skidded off the runway on Tuesday at Goa’s Dabolim airport in western India.
The Boeing 737 aircraft with 154 passengers and 7 crew members on board veered off on the runway minutes before it was scheduled to takeoff early morning from Goa, a popular holiday destination to travel to India’s financial capital Mumbai, the airline said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Twelve passengers suffered “minor injuries” while evacuating from the plane and were receiving medical attention, it said in a statement. “All 154 guests and 7 crew members are safe.”
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are among the authorities investigating the incident.
The airline said it will cooperate with investigating agencies and deploy a bigger Boeing 777 aircraft to transfer all passengers to Mumbai.
The plane left the runway inaccessible for hours. India’s naval force, which helped in the evacuation process and clearing up the runway said in a tweet that the airport was now operational again.
In a separate incident at New Delhi, a SpiceJet aircraft came face-to-face with another plane on the taxiway. “Acting promptly, the Spicejet crew immediately stopped the aircraft and intimated the ATC [air traffic control],” the airline said in a series of tweets.
Ashok Gajapathi Raju, India’s minister for civil aviation said in a tweet that a time-bound investigation will take place in the incident involving the Jet Airways plane. “Action will also be taken in case there is violation of procedures,” he said.
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