Amid a severe change in weather conditions, an IndiGo airlines flight from Delhi to Srinagar on Wednesday evening suffered massive midair turbulence.
Videos from inside the plane in which passengers can be heard screaming and praying have gone viral on social media platforms.
The flight was reportedly carrying more than 220 people.
The midair turbulence prompted the pilot to report the “emergency” to air traffic control at Srinagar. The flight later landed safely at Srinagar at 6.30 pm.
“Indigo flight 6E2142 enroute from Delhi to Srinagar experienced bad weather (hail storm), emergency reported by Pilot to ATC SXR (Srinagar),” reported PTI quoting an official of the Airport Authority of India.
“All Aircrew and 227 passengers are safe and flight is declared AOG by Airline,” he added.
‘Aircraft on ground’ (AOG) refers to a plane that is grounded and unable to fly due to technical issues.
Meanwhile, many domestic and international flights to Delhi airport from various airports have been halted or diverted due to weather conditions in Delhi, reported ANI quoting airport sources.
This evening, Delhi witnessed a severe storm as rain, accompanied by a light thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds with a speed of 40 to 60 kilometres per hour, was reported from several areas, after recording the highest minimum temperature of the season so far at 30.2 degrees Celsius, 3.5 degrees above normal.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted thunderstorms and rain.
The maximum temperature is expected to settle at 39 degrees Celsius, the IMD said.
The air quality was recorded in the poor category as the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 9 am stood at 201.