Panaji: Indigo flight makes emergency landing

Panaji: A Goa-Delhi Indigo airline flight, which was also ferrying state Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral, had to make a turnaround and land at the Dabolim International Airport early on Monday, after its left engine caught fire.

Indigo airlines in a statement issued here, has denied any occurrence of fire in the plane engine, but added that the incident is under investigation.

Speaking to IANS, Cabral said that the engine caught fire 15 minutes after the plane was airborne at around one a.m. "The pilot immediately shut off the left engine and flew us back to Goa," said the Minister who was heading to the national capital for an official meeting.

There were around 180 passengers in the plane at the time the incident occurred, Cabral also said. In a statement issued on Monday Indigo airlines said that it strongly refutes any occurrence of fire in the engine of flight 6E-336.

"However, the cause of the incident is not known yet and is currently under investigation," the statement said.