Plane skids off runway at Kochi airport

Two people were injured when a Gulf Air flight from Bahrain with 137 passengers on board skidded off the runway while landing at the Kochi airport early Monday, officials said.

Airport officials told IANS that heavy rain and wind might have led to the accident.

"It was around 3.50 a.m. the flight landed, but soon skidded outside the runway and hit the mud track after moving almost 700 metres. The nose wheel came off and the front portion looks as if it has broken off," an official said.

"Some passengers had to come out through the emergency exit," said a passenger, who was on the flight.

The airport has been closed for international operations till 3 p.m. while domestic operations are expected to resume shortly.

A special aircraft is on its way from Mumbai to remove the damaged aircraft. Most of the passengers were from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Sources said that two passengers, who came out through the emergency exit, suffered minor injuries and have been moved to a hospital near the airport.

Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Bharat Bhushan said that a team from Chennai is expected to reach Kochi in the afternoon.

As the airport has been closed, all incoming flights have been diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode airports.