June 19 – Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsya is investigating an incident on a plane that was carrying the Saudi team to a World Cup game in Rostov-on-Don on Monday.
The team landed safely in Rostov-on-Don, where they are due to play their second Group A match against Uruguay on Wednesday, after an apparent engine fire on landing.
“Rosaviatsya will investigate reasons for this accident involving all related parties, including the company which developed and produced the engine,” Interfax quoted a Rosaviatsya spokesman as saying.
A spokesman for airline Rossiya denied a fire had occurred and said the fault was due to a bird striking the wing.
As it came in to land, the plane “suffered a technical fault with one of its engines, with a bird getting caught seen as the preliminary cause,” a Rossiya airlines spokesman said. “Nothing threatened the safety of the passengers. The aircraft’s landing took place in a routine fashion. No warning was sounded during the landing.”
The Saudi federation released photographs of the players smiling and looking calm as they boarded a bus for their accommodation in central Rostov. “All the Saudi national team players are safe, after a technical failure in one of the airplane engines … and now they’re heading to their residence safely,” it said in a statement.
The team, who are making their first appearance at the World Cup since 2006, suffered a 5-0 thrashing by hosts Russia in the opening game in Moscow last Thursday.
“I want to reassure you that we got to Rostov safely, it was a simple technical fault in the airplane but thank God we are now in the hotel and things are good,” Osama Hawsawi, captain of the Saudi team, said in a video shared on social media.
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