Malaysia Airlines Flight MH720 was forced to make an emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this evening following a cargo fire alert.
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Fire indication detected mid-flight
In a statement to NST, Malaysia Airlines confirmed that the flight from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur had triggered a cargo fire indication.
The crew immediately followed standard safety procedures, including deploying fire extinguishing agents in the forward cargo hold as a precautionary measure.
Safe landing and passenger evacuation
The Boeing 737-800, carrying 115 passengers and seven crew members, safely landed at 6.18 pm local time.
It was then directed to a remote bay, where all passengers and crew disembarked without any issues.
Fire services and technical teams were on standby to assess the situation before opening the cargo doors,” Malaysia Airlines stated.
Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) chief executive officer Datuk Captain Norazman Mahmud confirmed to the English daily that the distress call was received at 6.02pm.
Authorities immediately facilitated the aircraft’s landing to ensure passenger safety.
Passenger recounts experience
A WeirdKaya reader onboard the flight shared that passengers were not informed about the fire alert during the flight.
We only found out after landing when we saw multiple fire trucks. The captain told us to stay calm.
We couldn’t retrieve our luggage because the cargo doors couldn’t be opened, so they offered to deliver our bags to our homes,” he said.
