An outbound Air New Zealand flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Melbourne airport shortly after it took off last night.
The A320 plane landed safely after initial reports of engine troubles and a fuel leak, but an Air New Zealand spokesman later said the reports of a leak were incorrect.
“Flight NZ726 from Melbourne to Auckland returned to Melbourne this evening after experiencing an engine fault,” the spokesman said.
“The aircraft, which had 145 passengers and six crew on board, landed in Melbourne without incident shortly before 8:00pm local time and passengers will now be accommodated on alternative services tomorrow.”
Earlier reports also suggested the plane issued a mayday call. Eight fire trucks were dispatched to the airport.
Air New Zealand says engineers are investigating the nature of the fault.
Passengers have been accommodated in hotels in Melbourne and say they are relieved to be back on land.
One passenger says the flight had an unusual climb, while another passenger says he heard a barking noise from under the plane.
Passenger Tobias Haque says the crew did not tell passengers what was happening.
“We were waiting for an announcement, waiting for someone to get on the little buzzer, and tell us what was going on, but it just didn’t happen,” he said.
Albert Fitisemanu says he prayed for everyone’s safety.
“It was crazy but I’m just glad we’re back, everyone’s in one piece, that’s the best thing,” he said.
Landslide Strikes Southeastern Train Services At Barnehurst Station, UK
A LANDSLIDE at Barnehurst station will continue to cause travel chaos on Kent-bound Southeastern services until tomorrow (Jan 10).
A Southeastern spokesman confirmed 200 tonnes of soil remain on the tracks and a team from Network Rail will begin the removal process at around 9pm this evening (Jan 9).
Services between Kidbrooke and Barnehurst are blocked with some diverting via Sidcup and Woolwich or cancelled or delayed at short notice.
Passengers that require stations via Bexleyheath in the country-bound direction are advised to travel to Dartford via the Sidcup or Woolwich lines and travel back up the Bexleyheath line.
London-bound trains are running normally.
Tickets being accepted on London Buses and DLR services.
A Southeastern spokesman said: “Network Rail will be starting work in the evening. The work will take all night and they expect to complete it to resume service in the morning at around 5.30am.”
A Network Rail spokesman said: “The plan is to work all night to resume business as usual in the morning.
“We are confident that we can achieve this but I would still recommend you check before you travel.”
A Tropical Cyclone Alert For Tonga Remains In Force
A tropical cyclone alert for Tonga remains in force, with tropical cyclone Ian again threatening the kingdom.
The Fiji Meteorological service says strong wind warnings for Ha’apai has now been issued, and remain in force for the Vava’u and Niuas island groups.
It says the cyclone is slow moving and may bring damaging gale force winds over the Niuas, Vava’u and Ha’apai group in the next 36 to 48 hours.
Thunderstorms are expected over these groups from later on Thursday, and very rough seas, and flooding of low lying coastal areas is expected from Friday.
On Monday, a tropical cyclone alert was issued for the island groups of Ha’apai and Vava’u, but it was cancelled on Tuesday.
However a new alert was issued on Wednesday.
Plane Makes Emergency Landing at Little Rock Airport After Pipe Bursts, USA
MAGNITUDE 5.1 – CUBA REGION
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000lzju#summary
Subject To Change
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 28km (17mi) NNW of Corralillo, Cuba
36km (22mi) NE of Marti, Cuba
53km (33mi) N of Los Arabos, Cuba
54km (34mi) ENE of Cardenas, Cuba
172km (107mi) E of Havana, Cuba
MAGNITUDE 5.1 – VANUATU REGION
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000lzgt#summary
Subject To Change
Depth: 36 km
Distances: 219km (136mi) NNE of Ile Hunter, New Caledonia
530km (329mi) SE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
544km (338mi) E of We, New Caledonia
597km (371mi) WSW of Nadi, Fiji
643km (400mi) ENE of Mont-Dore, New Caledonia
MAGNITUDE 5.0 – JAVA, INDONESIA
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000lzdf#summary
Subject To Change
Depth: 39 km
Distances: 49km (30mi) SW of Tugu Hilir, Indonesia
101km (63mi) SSW of Labuan, Indonesia
125km (78mi) SW of Pandeglang, Indonesia
132km (82mi) SW of Rangkasbitung, Indonesia
194km (121mi) WSW of Jakarta, Indonesia
MAGNITUDE 5.0 – COLOMBIA
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000lzbq#summary
Subject To Change
Depth: 28 km
Distances: 19km (12mi) WNW of Santa Maria, Colombia
47km (29mi) NNE of Belalcazar, Colombia
53km (33mi) ESE of Corinto, Colombia
53km (33mi) ESE of Miranda, Colombia
257km (160mi) SW of Bogota, Colombia
MAGNITUDE 4.9 – SOUTHERN IRAN
Subject To Change
Depth: 80 km
Distances: 194 km NW of Dubai, United Arab Emirates / pop: 1,137,347 / local time: 12:31:35.0 2014-01-09
189 km NW of Umm al Qaywayn, United Arab Emirates / pop: 44,411 / local time: 12:31:35.0 2014-01-09
3 km NE of Kīsh, Iran / pop: 20,922 / local time: 12:01:35.0 2014-01-09
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