Gulf Air plane towed back to taxibay

Kochi, Aug 30 (PTI) The Gulf Air plane from Bahrain,
which had skidded off the runway into a muddy area while
landing at the international airport here, was towed back to
the taxibay early Tuesday.
After a night-long operation, the aircraft was lifted at
6 AM (IST) with the help of huge cranes. A 100-member expert
team from Mumbai was at the spot to assist the operation.
Airport sources said the runway has been cleared and
normal services would soon resume at the airport.
The runway had initially been closed for 10 hours in the
aftermath of the mishap and was later partially opened for
smaller aircraft.
The plane, with 137 passengers and six crew, veered off
the runway at 3.55 AM (IST) on Monday, breaking its
nose-wheel. One person was hospitalised with fractures and six
with minor injuries discharged after first aid.
Before total clearance of the 3,400m runway, two flights
of Gulf Air and Etihad were diverted to Chennai and an Air
Arabia flight to Coimbatore, the sources said.
A Jet Airways flight from Doha was diverted to
Thiruvananthapuram, they said.
Cochin International Airport Limited Managing Director V
J Kurien had said that strong winds and heavy rains which
lashed Kochi on Monday could have been the cause of the
mishap.