Some PA Copy
LUCKY ESCAPE FOR PLANE BLAZE PASSENGERS. .By Dylan Dronfield and Brian Farmer, PA News. .Air passengers tonight spoke of their terror as they noticed one of the. .engines on their jet was on fire.. .More than 100 passengers escaped the Ryanair jet on inflatable slides after. .one of the engines caught fire shortly after landing at Stansted airport in. .Essex.. .Airport firefighters extinguished the blaze before it spread and two people. .needed hospital treatment for minor injuries, a Ryanair spokeswoman said.. .The fire, in engine two, happened after the Boeing 737-800 was delayed for. .more than an hour in Dublin when a plastic bag was caught in the other engine,. .she added.. .Lucinda Conyngham, 33, a film producer from Dundalk who now lives in. .Barcelona, said: "I am very relieved to be down on the ground and just glad. .that the plane didn't catch fire while we were in the air.. ."Just as we were stopping people started saying that there was a fire and. .that the engine was on fire.. ."I would say within about five minutes the fire engines were there and then. .almost straight away there was an announcement for us to evacuate the plane and. .we got off.. ."Some people were panicking and some people were screaming but generally it. .was pretty calm. The staff on the plane were very good.". .Martin Murray, 26, a charity worker from Monaghan, said: "You were just. .thinking that you had to get out and worrying about what might happen if the. .plane caught fire or the cabin filled with smoke.. ."When I got out I just started running around. As far as I knew I was still. .back in Ireland. I was just glad to be out.. ."As I came out of the plane I could see the fire. There was smoke coming out. .and we could see the fire engines.". .A spokesman for Stansted said two passengers suffered slight injuries as they. .were sliding down the safety chutes.. ."I believe one twisted an ankle and another suffered some sort of scratch to. .a leg.. ."The plane called for two ambulances and both people were taken to the. .Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow.". .A Ryanair statement said: "After landing at Stansted airport, the crew on. .Ryanair FR296 from Dublin were notified by the Air Traffic Control tower that. .they could see smoke coming from one of the two engines.. ."The crew instituted normal safety procedure in such circumstances, which. .involved shutting down the engine, bringing the aircraft to a complete stop and. .deploying the slides to facilitate a passenger evacuation.. ."The aircraft has been removed from service for a full inspection by Ryanair. .engineers and relevant authorities.". .The spokeswoman said the plane was delayed for more than an hour in Dublin. .before take-off while a plastic bag was removed from engine one.. .That engine was not the one at the centre of the fire scare, she stressed.. .Ryanair said the Boeing 737-800 jet was carrying 117 passengers and a crew of. .six.. .Many of the passengers were tonight put up in hotels in Cambridge before. .flying on to further destinations tomorrow.. .end
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