Emirates plane damaged after hitting flamingos in Mumbai

MUMBAI - An Emirates flight landed safely in Mumbai late on the night of May 20 after colliding with a flock of flamingos shortly before touchdown, damaging the plane and leaving dozens of birds dead.

Giving more details about the incident, an Emirates spokesperson confirmed on May 22 with Reuters that flight EK508 from Dubai to Mumbai was involved in a “bird strike incident upon landing”.

The Boeing 777 aircraft hit the flock around 300m from the ground, leaving 39 of the birds dead, The Times of India newspaper reported.

The Emirates spokesperson said: “The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew disembarked without injury; however, sadly, a number of flamingos were lost and Emirates is cooperating with the authorities on the matter.”

Images on local media showed officials carrying bloodied flamingos, which migrate to the city in the state of Maharashtra every winter from the neighbouring state of Gujarat.

The Emirates aircraft was damaged in the incident, and the return flight, scheduled to depart for Dubai on May 20, was cancelled, the spokesperson said. 

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