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The firefighter was Jasim Issa Mohammed Hassan from Ras Al Khaimah.

A firefighter from the airport civil defence died during the firefighting operations after an Emirates aircraft caught fire while landing at Dubai International airport.

"We are however, very sad to announce that one of the firefighters lost his life while saving the lives of the others.

"On behalf of the General Civil Aviation Authority, I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family of deceased. I salute his ultimate sacrifice that kept many from harm’s way. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family", said the director general of GCAA."This Boeing 777 flight was carrying 282 passengers with 18 crew members on board. We are grateful to God for his mercy and confirm that there were no fatalities among the passengers and crew on board," the GCAA said in a statement.

"He played an instrumental role in helping evacuate passengers safely. he is a martyr. We are trying our best to help his family," the statement added.

The firefighter was Jasim Issa Mohammed Hassan from Ras Al Khaimah.

Operations at Dubai International airport have resumed, the Dubai Media Office said in a statement on Twitter.

’A minute more and there would have been a tragedy’: Emirates passengers recount horror

When smoke engulfed the flight, we realised there was something amiss and we felt there was some danger. It was difficult to open the emergency exit at first. If we had been stranded inside the aircraft even for a minute more, there would have been a tragedy. Some of the passengers were injured while trying to jump from the emergency exit."

Another passenger on the flight

"People have inhaled smoke. Those who left the plane early might not have. But those who went out later have inhaled smoke."

"I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was absolutely horrified. The slides came out but they were blowing all over the place. People managed to escape -- from what I saw -- before there was a big explosion, with flames everywhere. We had taxied and stopped right next to where it was happening and people in my plane were just saying ’oh my god’ and ’get us off this plane."

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.

Emirates airline plane ’crash lands at Dubai International Airport after catching fire in mid-air’

Dubai: 

An Emirates airline flight from Thiruvananthapuram crash-landed at Dubai airport and caught fire on Wednesday.

The plane, a Boeing 777, landed on its tail at the Dubai International Airport and its right wing caught fire.

All 275 passengers of flight EK 521 were evacuated safely before the fire spread, said officials.

Confirming the incident, Emirates airline tweeted:
    Images on TV and social media showed thick smoke rising from the top of a burning plane.

The plane landed at 12.45 pm local time "after an incident", said Emirates in a statement.

A pilot who witnessed the incident told NDTV that he saw the plane coming in fast and hit the runway tail first.

"We saw big flames, then the body hit the runway and the right landing gear collapsed, followed by the right engine coming off. Then it skidded for a while until it stopped," the pilot said.

Flights from Dubai have been delayed and others heading for Dubai have been diverted to Sharjah.

Emirates airline plane ’crash lands at Dubai International Airport after catching fire in mid-air’

The Dubai government confirmed the Boeing 777 jet - which took off from India earlier today - had crash-landed at the airport shortly after 1pm local time (9am UK time)

An Emirates airline plane has crash landed at Dubai Airport after reportedly catching fire in mid-air.

The Dubai government confirmed the Boeing 777 jet crash-landed at the airport shortly after 1pm local time (9am UK time).

The three-hour flight took off from Trivandrum International Airport in India at around 6am UK time before the captain is understood to have sent out and emergency signal shortly before the plane was due to land.

No-one is currently believed to have been injured and passengers have been evacuated.

Eye-witnesses described seeing huge plumes of smoke rising from the plane before it crashed down onto the runway.

We will update the Emirates website & social media channels as more information becomes available. #EK521
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016

We are extending full co-operation to authorities & emergency services managing the situation. #EK521
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016

There were 275 passengers and crew on board. Our main priority now is the safety and well-being of all involved.
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016

We can confirm flight EK521 from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International.
— Emirates airline (@emirates) August 3, 2016.