Thai Airways International Airbus 330 from Guangzhou, China, skidded off the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport as it was landing on Sunday night, causing damage to its propellers and putting a fire at the right landing gear near the engine. Rescue officials have put out the fire and evacuated all the passengers to safety.
Only 12 people among the 287 passengers on board the TG 679 flight were injured from shock and smoke choking. It is reported that the team of Mr. Charnchai Chairungruang, a former Industry Minister, as well as Channel 7 actor Veeraparp Suparbpaiboon, and Mr.Kosit Suvinijjit, Director of Spring News were among the passengers on the flight.
The Director of the Suvarnabhumi Airport revealed that the airbus reported a fire in its engine and took an emergency landing, before sliding off track. Most of the passengers were Chinese. Fortunately, only a small number of passengers were hurt, with only 3 being sent to the nearest hospital. The eastern runway is currently out of use and may cause slight delays to other flights as flight re-scheduling is necessary, the Director said.
Meanwhile, Sorajak Kasemsuvan, President of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited has revealed that the Airbus 330 is still sitting on the side of the runway as it cannot yet be removed from the scene before an approval of the Department of Civil Aviation. He added that the runway will be closed for at least one day and a half. Lastly, he expects the incident to affect a number of flights, while affirming that the incoming flights will not be re-routed to Don Mueang Airport.
Source: http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/newsen/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNSOC5609090010001