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Air France plane forced to land in Russia’s Yekaterinburg due to failure of left engine

"The plane was not damaged. The landing was smooth, no one was hurt," a spokesman for the Urals transport investigation department of the Russian Investigations Committee said

© AP Photo/Ted S. Warren (Archive)

YEKATERINBURG, February 15. /TASS/. An Air France Boeign-777 en route from Seoul to Paris made an emergency landing in Russia’s Yekaterinburg in south Urals due to the failure of its left engine, a spokesman for the Urals transport investigation department of the Russian Investigations Committee told TASS on Sunday.

"The plane was not damaged. The landing was smooth, no one was hurt," the spokesman said, adding that a pre-investigation check was underway.

The passengers of the Air France Boeing were accommodated at the airport’s hotel, Dmitry Tyukhtin, the Koltsovo airport’s strategic communications director, told TASS, adding that Air France was expected to send another plane to take the passengers.

Earlier on Sunday, an Air France spokesman said the company had commissioned a representative to Yekaterinburg. "After an incident in the air that took place some five hours’ flight from Paris, the crew decided to make a landing. The landing was made smoothly," a spokesman for Air France’s head office in Paris told TASS. After the landing, the passengers - 290 people - were served with dinner. We have sent our representative from Moscow, since we have no office in Yekaterinburg," the spokesman said, adding that the representative will assess the situation. "If the plane’s failure is serious, Air France will send another jet to take the passenger on Monday".

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