Ethiopian Airlines jet makes emergency landing in Dakar

An Ethiopian Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Dakar, Senegal, after one of its engines caught fire.

This was according to Blaise Diagne International Airport spokesman Tidiane Tamba who said that the pilots of the flight, which was headed to Addis Ababa via Bamako, Mali, called the control tower quickly after takeoff Tuesday morning requesting an emergency landing.

None of the 90 passengers or flight crew were injured.

On Twitter, Ethiopian Airlines confirmed that the aircraft (B767-300) returned to the airport due to a technical issue.

“We apologise to our valued customers, who were on-board the flight for the inconvenience. All passengers are being rebooked on alternative flights,” said the airline in a tweet.

This comes just a few months after an Ethiopian Airlines plane from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed shortly after take-off, killing all 157 people aboard.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Flight 302 is the deadliest accident involving an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft to date, surpassing the fatal hijacking of Flight 961 resulting in a crash near the Comoros in 1996.

It is also the deadliest aircraft accident to occur in Ethiopia, surpassing the crash of an Ethiopian Air Force Antonov An-26 in 1982, which killed 73.