Agence France Presse

Jammu, February 19:

Some 115 passengers and crew aboard an Alliance Air flight escaped unhurt today in Kashmir after an engine caught fire minutes before the plane was due to take off, an airport official said. The pilot aborted takeoff after detecting smoke from the engine, said Sanjeev Misri, manager at the airport in Jammu, winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

The aircraft operated by domestic airline Alliance Air had 115 passengers and crew aboard and was minutes away from takeoff when the pilot noticed the smoke. The pilot was alerted to the emergency by an unusual noise from the engine and he immediately aborted takeoff, Misri said.

“All passengers from the aircraft who were travelling to the remote predominantly Buddhist tourist destination of Leh in Kashmir were evacuated, Misri said. There were no injuries.