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1st LD Writethru: Plane of Somalia's Daallo Airlines makes emergency landing after catching fire

Xinhua, February 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

A plane of Somalia's Daallo Airlines made an emergency landing Tuesday in the capital Mogadishu after it caught fire a few minutes after taking off, injuring two people, officials said.

The Daallo Airlines flight D3159 was en route to Djibouti from Somalia after suspected bomb blasted a hole through the side of the board or fuselage just five minutes after the aircraft took off from Mogadishu airport, Air Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Ali Ahmed Jama said.

Jama said the government has launched investigations into the explosion, confirming that two passengers were injured while one was still missing.

"An explosion happened inside the Airbus D3159 belonging to Daalo Airline company, two people were injured, one is missing, but security forces have launched investigations to establish the cause," Jama told journalists late on Tuesday.

However, witnesses said at least one person was blown out of the aircraft by the impact of the explosion. Jama said the plane which was at between 10,000-14,000 feet was forced to return to Mogadishu's airport after a bang was heard on board, sparking fire.

"The pilot requested us to land and we accepted and later extended assistance to passengers," Jama said, adding that investigations are under way to determine the cause.

Ali Abdi Wardhere who was one of the passengers on board said the injured people were rushed to the AMISOM hospital while one passenger went missing.

"I was sleeping when the incident was happening, but running people woke me up amid fear and shock. The pilot did his best and brought us back. All the passengers were rescued apart from two people who were injured," Wardhere told Xinhua.

"The missing passenger is reported to have fallen and found in Bal'ad district in Middle Shabelle region, I thank the Somali government for how they managed to rescue," he added.

Sources said the missing person could be the one main suspect behind the blast as he was blown up by the explosion.

Daallo Airlines flies regularly between Mogadishu and cities including Djibouti and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Endit