Plane with gaping hole makes emergency landing in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A passenger plane with a hole in its fuselage was forced to make an emergency landing at an airport in Somalia's capital Tuesday.

The BBC, quoting the colleague of a passenger, reported the hole appeared in the aircraft's side at about 10,000 feet after taking off from Mogadishu.

Bloomberg News quoted Ali Ahmed Jama, Somalia's minister of air transport and civil aviation, as saying the plane landed after a bang was heard and a fire erupted.

Somali news outlet Hirran Online quoted passengers as saying the hole was caused by an internal blast -- and officials as saying at least one passenger was killed.

At least 60 passengers were reportedly on board Daallo Airline flight A321, which was headed toward Djibouti when the incident occurred.

In addition to one death, two passengers suffered minor injuries, officials said.

Images of the damaged aircraft show a frayed hole, located over the right-hand wing, with torn pieces of fuselage bending away from the opening.

Officials are investigating the cause of the incident.