Media reports said that a Southwest Airlines plane, on its way to the US city of Fort Lauderdale from Havana, was forced to return to Cuba’s Jose Marti Airport on Sunday, after news of an engine fire broke out following a collision with a bird.
NBC 6 News in the US state of Florida reported that a Southwest Airlines spokesperson confirmed the accident, saying
“Southwest Flight 3923 departing from Havana, Cuba, bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sunday morning, was hit by birds shortly after takeoff,” the spokesperson told the television news channel. Mobile phone footage showed smoke filling the plane as terrified parents appeared to show their children how to fit oxygen masks, reports Al-Rai daily quoting Reuters.
Emergency lights were switched on inside the plane, and video showed passengers being evacuated through emergency slides on the runway at Cuba’s largest airport.
The news report stated that there were no serious injuries and that all passengers were safely evacuated.
