Witness: Emirates Pilot Have Managed to Save so Many Lives

DUBAI - Captain Boeing 777 Emirates Airlines which crash landed at Dubai International Airport believed to have sent out and emergency signal in the moments before the plane was preparing to land.

A pilot who witnessed flight EK521 landing told NDTV the plane came in 'really hard' and hit the 'runway tail'. A passenger on another plane said she could see emergency chutes deployed. All flights to the Dubai terminal have been diverted while emergency crews work at the scene. All take-offs and landings have been suspended.

Chris Galusha landed at Dubai Airport just 25 minutes before the plane crash landed, which has caused four to five hours of delays.

"The board is slowly updating major delays. Cannot see anything from terminal at this time," he tweeted MailOnline, alongside a picture of the departure screen showing all flights as delayed.

The Dubai government's official media office said on Twitter that all passengers were 'evacuated safely and no injuries have been reported so far'

Pictures show smoke coming from the plane on a runway at the airport. All flights to the Dubai terminal have been diverted while emergency crews work at the scene

READ MORE: Emirates Airlines Crash Landing at Dubai Airport

Emirates airlines Boeing 777-300 A6-EMW plane flight number EK521 from Trivandrum to Dubai lays on the ground in Dubai airport after being gutted by fire. The plane departed at 10.19am from Trivandrum International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50pm at Dubai International Airport

"Airport is quiet right now. Calm before storm before people deplane," he tweeted.

In one video posted online a woman with a British accent can be heard gasping as she watched from the terminal.

"Are there people in that plane? Oh my god, the smoke’s getting darker," she says.

Planemaker Boeing said in a statement it was monitoring the situation in Dubai and it would be working with Emirates to gather more information.

Meanwhile, the pilot and crew have been roundly praised for landing the plane, with initial reports suggesting the pilot asked the airport for permission for a crash landing.

"Emirates pilot looks like he expertly landed the 777, and although there was a fire, still was time for pax (sic) to exit, get away,' tweeted US-based journalist and aviation blogger, Gerry Doyle.

An Indian journalist for ABP news wrote: "Passengers on board Emirates flight almost kiss & survive death..Pilot deserves all praises to have managed to save so many lives."

Dubai International is by far the Middle East's busiest airport, and is the world's busiest air hub in terms of international passenger traffic and is the base for Emirates, from where it serves more than 153 destinations.

The incident comes almost four months after a plane belonging to Dubai's other carrier, flydubai, crashed and burst into flames as it was landing in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, killing all 61 people onboard.

On July 26, an Emirates Boeing 777-300 aircraft heading to the Maldives made an emergency landing in Mumbai because of a 'technical fault'.

Emirates, Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi's Etihad have seized a significant portion of transcontinental travel, capitalising on the geographic locations of their Gulf hubs.

Emirates is the largest single operator of the Boeing 777, as well as the Airbus A380 superjumbo, and has expanded its fleet to 250 aircraft last year.