An Emirates flight attendant died after falling off of a Boeing 777 plane parked on the tarmac.
The incident occured on Wednesday at the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Flight EK 729 arrived from Dubai to Entebbe around 2 p.m. local time (7 a.m. EST) and was scheduled to take off again towards Dubai at 3.25 p.m.
The circumstances of the incident, which occurred while no passengers were on board, are currently under investigation.
"A female member of the cabin crew appeared to have opened the emergency door and unfortunately fell off an Emirates aircraft that had safely landed and parked," read a press release issued by the CAA shortly after the incident took place. A Boeing 777 measures more than 60 feet in height.
An Emirates Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft taxis at the Chopin International Airport in Warsaw, Poland May 17, 2016. Kacper Pempel/Reuters
The woman was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Emirates has yet to identify the cabin crew member by her name and nationality.
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Vianney Luggya, a spokesperson for the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), toldNewsweek on Thursday that the woman died on Wednesday evening, having sustained serious injuries to her head.
Local media cited unidentified eyewitnesses saying the woman intentionally opened the emergency exit door and jumped off the plane.
A gruesome image published in some Uganda news outlets and on social media purportedly showed the woman, wearing an Emirates uniform, lying face down on the tarmac, a stream of blood forming around her head.
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The airline has yet to reply to a request for comment from Newsweek, but an Emirates spokesperson confirmed the incident to the Khaleej Times.
"We can confirm that a member of our cabin crew unfortunately fell off from an open door while preparing the aircraft for boarding on flight EK729 from Entebbe on 14 March. The injured crew member was brought to the nearest hospital," the spokesperson said. "We are providing all possible support and care for the affected crew, and will extend our full co-operation to the authorities in their investigation."
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