Ryanair passengers injured after jumping from plane wing during fire scare

Independent

3 days ago

At least 18 Ryanair passengers were injured after they jumped from the aircraft wing in a panic during a fire alert on the runway in Mallorca.
The flight was about to depart to Manchester on Saturday night from Palma airport when the crew sounded the alarm of a fire onboard the aircraft.
A video shows passengers leaping from the aircraft wing onto the runway, with some falling on their fronts from a height onto the tarmac.
Six people were taken to hospital by ambulances that arrived on the scene.
A confused airport worker can be overheard telling a colleague over a walkie-talkie: 'Do you know the plane has emergency exits?' as the passengers were filmed fleeing the aircraft and jumping from the wing.
'Plane about to leave from apron 10 or eight, and now the people are jumping from the wing onto the ground,' he added, The Telegraph reported.
'Something's happening, something's happening, they're evacuating the plane. Now the firefighters are coming.'
The emergency was brought under control, with most passengers able to leave the plane in an orderly fashion.
One passenger onboard the flight, 56-year-old Denise Kelly, told the MailOnline that a member of the cabin crew ran along the aisle and told them to evacuate.
She said it felt like a 'life or death situation' and only jumped from the wing because she feared for her life, adding that the cabin crew told them to leave behind their belongings in case the 'plane exploded'.
Ms Kelly hit the tarmac and said she suffered a broken right heel, fractured left wrist and smashed elbow, saying she has been left 'completely traumatised' by the incident.
Ryanair later said the fire alert had been a false alarm. The airline said in a statement to The Independent: 'This flight from Palma to Manchester discontinued take-off due to a false fire warning light indication.
'Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal. While disembarking, a small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries (ankle sprains, etc) and crew requested immediate medical assistance.
'To minimise disruption to passengers, we quickly arranged a replacement aircraft to operate this flight, which departed Palma at 7.05am this morning.
'We sincerely apologise to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused.'
A spokesperson for Mallorca's emergency services said Saturday morning: 'We received an alert about a fire on a plane on the ground at Palma airport at 12.36am today.
'Four ambulances were sent to the scene. Eighteen people were injured and received medical assistance of whom six were taken to hospital,' they added, describing the injuries as 'minor'.