Turkish airlines flight suffers tyre fire during landing in Nepal's Kathmandu; all passengers safe

A Turkish Airlines aircraft arriving from Istanbul caught fire on its right-side tyres while landing at Tribhuvan International Airport early morning of May 11, prompting an emergency evacuation of all passengers and crew members.

According to airport security officials, the flight carrying call sign TK726 was en route from Istanbul to Kathmandu when the tyres caught fire during landing.

Police confirmed that all 278 passengers and 11 crew members onboard were safely evacuated from the aircraft. Some United Nations officials were also reportedly among the passengers.

SP Rajkumar Silawal from airport security stated that the fire was quickly brought under control using airport fire engines.

Videos circulating on social media showed flames and thick grey smoke emerging from the aircraft’s right landing gear as emergency response teams rushed to the scene. Passengers were evacuated through the aircraft’s emergency exits.

No injuries have been reported so far. Authorities are yet to determine the exact cause of the incident, while neither the airline nor airport authorities have issued an official detailed statement regarding the emergency landing.