UAE | Traffic and Transport
Rush to exits blamed for passenger injuries
Dozens of passengers were treated for minor injuries at the airport and one rushed to the trauma centre for injuries to her head, which some blame on the pandemonium that ensued while exiting the plane.
- By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 March 13, 2007
- Abdul Qadir (wearing a neckbrace) with his daughter Noorjahan after being treated for injury he sustained after a Biman aircraft skidded off the Dubai International Airport runway during take-off.
- Image Credit: Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
Dubai: Dozens of passengers were treated for minor injuries at the airport and one rushed to the trauma centre for injuries to her head, which some blame on the pandemonium that ensued while exiting the plane.
Dr Ibtesam Bastaki, head of the Dubai Airport Medical Centre, told Gulf News that one passenger was sent to the Rashid Hospital Trauma Centre as a precautionary measure and also to receive treatment for injuries to her head and hand, while 26 other passengers were treated on-site.
She said the injuries, comprising mostly bruises and scratches, likely occurred when the Biman aircraft skidded off the runway and when passengers were trying to exit.
"It's a panicky situation in the airplane," she said, adding that calm was restored once the passengers evacuated the aircraft.
One of the injured passengers was a four-year-old boy, while the rest, most of them men, were adults between the ages of 32 to 49.
Dr Bastaki said the centre also treated a few firefighters who had minor burns.
Lacerations
Abdul Rahman, the husband of the 54-year old woman who was taken to the hospital, told Gulf News that a combination of smoke and passengers' rush to exit the aircraft was to blame for his wife's injuries.
His wife, Mariam Begum, a UK resident of Bangladeshi origin, was treated at the trauma centre for lacerations on her forehead, which required stitches, and scratches on her left hand.
"We were taxiing down the runway and something went wrong with the tyres. And then my wife saw fire in the engine. Smoke filled the cabin," he said.
At that point, he said everyone started to panic.
"There was too much smoke. Nobody could see anything. Everybody was pushing, so she fell down. They all wanted to get out at the same time," he said.
"This was the worst experience of my life. I have flown many times using the same airline, but nothing like this ever happened before," he added.
Dr Victor Mikhael Butros, physician in charge of accident and emergency unit at the centre, told Gulf News that Mariam's injuries were not as severe as originally feared.
"Her CT scans came out clear. She only has [superficial] injuries," he said, adding that she would be discharged shortly.
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