DUBAI: British holidaymakers took to Twitter to share harrowing images of the moment they were evacuated off a Thomas Cook plane in Egypt when smoke began pouring out from underneath a passenger’s seat on Wednesday.
Flight MT519 was due to take off from the Red Sea town of Hurghada to London Gatwick at 1.40 a.m. but was evacuated before it took off.
British holidaymakers were injured evacuating a Thomas Cook plane in Egypt after smoke started coming from under a passenger's seat pic.twitter.com/UarCBb4T44
— NEWS UP (@NUNTIO_NEWS) July 19, 2017
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: “Flight MT519 to London Gatwick carried out a controlled evacuation before take-off at Hurghada airport after the crew reported a smell of burning and smoke at the rear of the cabin.
“All 251 passengers and 9 crew members evacuated the aircraft using the emergency slides and were transported back to the terminal building.
“Our customers’ safety is always our top priority and we are very sorry for the delay.”
However, many took to Twitter to complain that it “was not a controlled evacuation, it was an emergency one with people getting injured,” as user Wendy Derek posted on the social networking site.
Brits injured in stampede to evacuate Thomas Cook flight via emergency slides on Egypt runway ... https://t.co/vYaCSBFvSD
— Air Traveler News (@AirTravelerNews) July 20, 2017
According to the Daily Mail, a number of passengers were injured in the commotion, with one passenger reportedly suffering a fracture.
The airline dispatched a replacement aircraft from Frankfurt to transport the travelers back to the UK.
