KARACHI – A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight carrying Hajj pilgrims made an emergency landing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after an explosion was heard midair.
The flight departed from the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, at 10pm yesterday and was heading to Jeddah when it was diverted to Riyadh for emergency landing.
A passenger reported that an explosion was heard during the flight, PK 839, prompting the pilot to divert the flight to nearby airport for emergency landing.
Following the emergency landing, passengers were offloaded from the Boeing 777 plane and shifted to the lounge at the Riyadh airport and an inspection was launched to detect the malfunction if any.
A PIA spokesperson said the pilot received a high temperature warning in the cargo cabin during the flight after which the landing was made in the Saudi capital.
However, after inspection, it was found out that the warning was false and the flight departed to Jeddah following a quick check.
