Emirates passenger jet with 300 on board crash lands at Dubai International Airport after catching fire in the air... and EXPLODES on the runway

• The Boeing 777 has crash landed at Dubai International Airport following a flight from Trivandrum in India
• Dramatic footage shows Emirates passenger jet exploding into a fireball on the runway after emergency landing
• All flights to the Dubai terminal have since been diverted while all take-offs and landings have been suspended
• Airline says there were no fatalities in the crash and that all 282 passengers, 18 crew were evacuated safely
• Reports claim all passengers descended emergency chutes within just 45 seconds of plane coming to a halt 

An Emirates passenger jet has crash landed at Dubai Airport this morning before exploding into a massive fireball on the runway.

Thick black smoke could be seen rising over Dubai International Airport after an Emirates Boeing 777, carrying 282 passengers and 18 crew was forced into an emergency landing at around 12.45pm local time.

There are reports the landing gear for the plane, which had flown from Trivandrum International Airport in India, may not have come down fully prior to touching down. Other reports claimed the engine on the right side caught fire and fell off while landing. 

Dramatic footage shows the aircraft exploding in a fireball on the runway, with the force of the blast throwing a huge metal panel from the plane into the air. Separate video captures the moment it scrapes along the runway before coming to a halt in a cloud of smoke.

Incredibly, all passengers were reportedly evacuated safely within 45 seconds of landing before the plane was engulfed in flames. 

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Emergency: An Emirates passenger jet carrying 282 passengers has crash landed at Dubai Airport before bursting into flames

Dramatic footage shows the aircraft exploding in a fireball on the runway, with the force of the blast throwing a huge metal panel from the plane into the air

 A pilot who witnessed flight EK521 landing said the plane came in 'really hard' and hit the 'runway tail' before coming to a halt

Emirates said the flight departed at 10.19am from Trivandrum International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50pm at Dubai International Airport

Photographs of the incident showed a plane lying crumpled on its belly on the tarmac with black smoke pouring from its upper section

Photographs of the incident showed a plane lying crumpled on its belly on the tarmac with black smoke pouring from its upper section. 

The captain is believed to have sent out and emergency signal in the moments before the plane was preparing to land.

A pilot who witnessed flight EK521 landing told NDTV the plane came in 'really hard' and hit the 'runway tail'. A passenger on another plane said she could see emergency chutes deployed.