Spicejet plane carrying West Bengal DGP makes emergency landing at Kolkata airport

A Spicejet flight had to make an emergency landing at the Kolkata airport on Monday evening within minutes of take-off after a technical glitch was detected mid-air. The flight from Kolkata returned at 4:32 pm after 12 minutes of takeoff at 4:20 pm and all the passengers were offloaded.

According to news agency PTI, there were 69 people on the Bagdogra-bound plane SG- 275, including West Bengal's Director-General of Police Virendra and the state's security advisor Surajit Kar Purkayastha. All the passengers and crew members are safe.

Soon after the take-off, minor smoke was seen in the cabin and the fire alarm went off, PTI reported quoting sources. The pilots contacted the ATC and made the emergency landing safely, PTI said.

An investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the glitch, PTI added. Alternative arrangements are being made for the passengers, PTI added citing sources.