RIYADH: A Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus A330 jet made an emergency landing in the western Red Sea city of Jeddah, injuring 53 people, aviation officials said on Tuesday.

The Saudia aircraft was travelling from Medina to Dhaka with 151 people on board, but had to be diverted to Jeddah late on Monday after it suffered a malfunction in the hydraulic system, the kingdom’s Aviation Investigation Bureau said.

Footage posted online showed the plane leaving a trail of flame along the runway as it skidded on its nose before screeching to a halt.

“The passengers were eva­cuated by emergency slides. 52 of them were slightly inju­red, while one female passenger suffered a fracture during the evacuation and is now receiving treatment,” AIB said in a statement.

The aircraft circled over Jeddah for several hours as its landing gear failed to drop, forcing the captain to make the emergency landing, Saudi media reported.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2018