A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 preparing to depart Palma Airport on the island of Mallorca for Manchester was the scene of a fire alert early on Saturday morning, resulting in 18 people sustaining minor injuries.
The alert was received by the SAMU 061 emergency coordination centre at 12.36am, reporting a possible onboard fire while the plane was still on the tarmac at Son Sant Joan airport.
Though no flames were observed, the flight crew opted to evacuate the aircraft as a safety precaution.
During the evacuation, chaos ensued. Several passengers reportedly panicked and rushed to exit the aircraft, with some jumping from the emergency exits over the wings to the ground below.
In response, SAMU 061 dispatched four ambulances – two advanced life support (ALS) units and two basic life support (BLS) units – to the scene. Firefighters stationed at Palma airport and officers from the Guardia Civil also responded.
As a result of the evacuation, 18 passengers suffered minor injuries. Six were transported to hospital – three to Clínica Rotger and three to Hospital Quirónsalud Palmaplanas.
Ryanair released a statement saying:
‘A 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.’
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Ryanair 737-800 evacuated at Palma de Mallorca Airport after a fire indication developed on board during taxi.
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The SAMU061 coordination center received a call at a.m, reporting a fire on flight RK3446 to Manchester.
A total of 18 people were injured during the evacuation, six… pic.twitter.com/XpCCejGq2t
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