MOGADISHU, SOMALIA -- An explosion and fire blew a gaping hole in a commercial airliner, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Mogadishu's international airport late Tuesday, officials and witnesses said.
The pilot said he thought it was a bomb. An aviation expert who looked at photographs of the hole in the fuselage
fuselage
Meaning: the main part of an aircraft in which passengers and goods are carried
Thai Translation: ส่วนลำตัวเครื่องบิน
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said the damage was consistent with an explosive device.
Two people were slightly injured as 74 passengers and crew of the plane were evacuated after the plane made a safe landing, Somali aviation official Ali Mohamoud said. It was not certain if all the passengers were accounted for.
The plane, operated by Daallo Airlines and headed to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, was forced to land minutes after taking off from the Mogadishu airport, said Mohamoud.