B767 accident Harare turns out as fire drill 05-08-2010

[Richard from Rotterdam]

Only in Africa...


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Plane accident scare at Zimbabwe's Harare airport

There have been chaotic scenes at Zimbabwe's Harare International Airport after a safety drill was mistaken for a real plane accident.

The BBC's Brian Hungwe, at the airport, says he saw a large plume of smoke and helicopters over the runway.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority head had confirmed to reporters that a plane had been involved in an accident.

But an aviation spokeswoman later told the BBC it was a drill, and that distressed "relatives" were "actors".

Correspondents say it seems that not many people were informed of the safety drill.

Witnesses reported seeing several ambulances heading towards the airport.

David Chawota, Zimbabwe's Civil Aviation Authority head, then began fielding phone calls about the incident.

"I can confirm that a 767 plane coming from London has had an accident at Harare airport," he told AFP news agency.

He told Reuters: "I can confirm there has been an accident, but I cannot give details right now. I am not at the site, but there are just injuries, no deaths."

[michel N]

It seems there was an exercise going on, and not everybody was informed about it. So there was no accident at all. According to the latest news from the BBC.

regards,

Michel