A Turkish Airlines aircraft bound for Istanbul was forced to divert to India’s Kolkata airport after a fire broke out in one of its engines shortly after take-off from Kathmandu, airport officials in Nepal have said.

 

The flight, THY 727, operated by an Airbus A330-300, departed Tribhuvan International Airport at 13:28 local time on Wednesday. Around four minutes into the flight, the aircraft experienced a fire in its right engine, according to the airport’s general manager, Tek Nath Sitaula.

 

“The captain informed air traffic control about the engine fire within four minutes of take-off,” Mr Sitaula told local media. “Following standard safety procedures, the crew shut down the right engine and held the aircraft in the air for about 10 to 12 minutes before diverting westwards towards Kolkata.”

 

The wide-body aircraft was carrying 225 passengers at the time of the incident. All passengers and crew were reported to be safe.

 

Following the alert, Tribhuvan International Airport was temporarily closed for approximately 15 minutes as a precautionary measure, disrupting other flight operations.

 

The cause of the engine fire has not yet been disclosed, and further technical inspections are expected to be carried out by the airline and aviation authorities