mediamonitor --Arab News.

Riyadh- July 13, 2002. About 231 passengers, including a prominent US diplomat, an Indian Ambassador and a prominent Saudi businessman had a miraculous escape from a British Airline which was force landed in the Riyadh International Airport. The British Airways flight BA 262 in which they were traveling en route to London force-landed at the King Khaled International Airport on Friday following an engine trouble and fire in the mid-air.

The Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Talmiz Ahmad and his wife Sunita Mainee Ahmad had a miraculous escape in the early hours of Friday. According to British Airlines, the pilot had to make the emergency landing when its left engine caught fire forcing him to jettison the fuel. The aircraft had reached an altitude of 4,000 feet when the incident occurred.

According to the airline version, the aircraft could fly with one engine and the pilot decided to make an emergency-landing. The next flight took off after a delay of 24 hours, with all passengers reaching London safely. In recent times, Saudi Arabia has witnessed a series of attacks on western targets. However, it is not known whether the force landing of British Airways was related to any subotage attempts. --keralamonitor.com