Eighteen passengers were injured after a fire alarm sparked panic onboard a Ryanair plane preparing to depart from Majorca to Manchester on Saturday morning.
The alarm sounded shortly after midnight as the aircraft was set for take-off from Palma Airport, prompting an emergency evacuation.
Dramatic social media footage shows terrified passengers scrambling onto one of the plane’s wings before leaping onto the tarmac as emergency services raced to the scene.
Ryanair 737-800 evacuated at Palma de Mallorca Airport after a fire indication developed on board during taxi.
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The SAMU061 coordination center received a call at a.m, reporting a fire on flight RK3446 to Manchester.
A total of 18 people were injured during the evacuation, six… pic.twitter.com/XpCCejGq2t
Local medical teams confirmed that 18 people required treatment, with six passengers taken to hospital.
In the video, panicked passengers are seen jumping from the wing before sprinting away from the aircraft. An airport worker can be heard saying: “Do you know the plane has emergency exits? Now the people are jumping from the wing onto the ground. Something’s happening, something’s happening, they’re evacuating the plane. Now the firefighters are coming.”
Other passengers evacuated the aircraft using inflatable emergency slides, following the standard safety procedure.
Airport emergency crews confirmed they received an alert about a potential fire onboard the grounded aircraft at 12.36am.
A spokesperson for Majorca’s emergency services said: “Four ambulances were sent to the scene, which were two basic life support units and two advanced life support units. Eighteen people were injured and received medical assistance, of whom six were taken to hospital. They were all minor. Three went to the Clinica Rotger and three to the Palmaplanas Hospital.”
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “This flight from Palma to Manchester discontinued take-off due to a false fire warning light indication. Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal."
They added: “While disembarking, a small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries (ankle sprains, etc.) and crew requested immediate medical assistance. To minimise disruption to passengers, we quickly arranged a replacement aircraft to operate this flight, which departed Palma at 07:05 this morning. We sincerely apologise to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused.”
