No fewer than 248 passengers narrowly escaped death on Friday night after a Qatar Airways aircraft developed a technical fault mid-air and was forced to make an emergency landing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency confirmed that the aircraft, which was fully loaded with 248 passengers and 12 crew members, encountered the problem while airborne within Nigerian airspace, triggering distress alerts and an immediate emergency response.
According to a preliminary report by LASEMA, the agency said it activated the state’s emergency response plan immediately upon receiving the distress call through its 767/112 toll-free emergency lines.
Emergency landings are initiated when unplanned faults occur mid-flight. Through pilots’ distress signals to the control tower, such aircraft are guided to make a safe landing.
The report, which was signed by the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, stated that, “Following distress alerts received at the Command and Control Centre in Alausa, Ikeja, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency promptly activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans.”
The Permanent Secretary reassured the public of the agency’s readiness to respond to emergencies, noting that the swift, coordinated response helped avert what could have been a major aviation disaster.