Tallinn, March 19: A cargo plane with engine and landing gear problems has successfully performed an emergency landing on the ice-covered Lake Ulemiste outside the Estonian capital, Tallinn.
“It was a dangerous situation because the ice on the lake had already started to melt,” he said. “We’ve been very lucky to have had such a harsh winter,” Economy Ministry spokesman Kalev Vapper said after the incident on March 18.
“The plane is lying on the ice now, but it has started to sink slowly,” he went on to say.
The spokesperson further added that the plane had suffered minor damage during the landing while one of the six crew members suffered minor injuries.
According to authorities, the aircraft with six people onboard spilled 1.5 tonnes of fuel that threatened to pollute the main source of drinking water for Tallinn’s 400,000 residents.
“The situation regarding water quality is under control at the moment,” Tallinna Vesi, the municipal water company, said in a statement.
The company also added that it had ordered additional chemicals to treat the water if needed.
The Antonov AN26 turboprop aircraft was on charter to the international express parcel delivery company DHL, and is owned by the Polish air cargo company EXIN Co. Ltd. It was en route from Finland to Estonia.
——Agencies