A SriLankan Airlines flight arriving from Melbourne, Australia, made an emergency landing at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) last night (01) after smoke was detected in its cargo hold.
However, the aircraft subsequently landed safely at the BIA, SriLankan Airlines Head of Corporate Communications Deepal Perera said.
The aircraft, flight UL 605, arrived from Melbourne at approximately 10.38 p.m. yesterday.
The incident occurred around 15 minutes before the aircraft was scheduled to land. Upon detecting the unusual situation, the pilot immediately alerted the airport's operations control centre.
Following the notification, emergency response arrangements were activated, with fire engines, doctors, nurses, rescue personnel and ambulances placed on standby. Nearby hospitals were also alerted to remain prepared for any emergency.
Despite the incident, the pilot successfully landed the aircraft without any damage or injuries.
The aircraft was an Airbus A330 wide-body jet carrying 258 passengers and 15 crew members.
Subsequent inspections revealed that the smoke had originated from dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) used to preserve a consignment of meat stored in the cargo hold.
Deepal Perera further stated that, after undergoing additional safety inspections, the aircraft departed from the BIA for another destination this morning (02).
