Tourists refuse to board “burning” plane

Dozens of Russian tourists in Turkey refused to fly home after deciding their plane was unsafe.

They say one of the engines on the Tupolev-154 caught fire just before takeoff. The passengers say that when firefighters came to put out the flames, they insisted on being transferred to another plane.

They slept the night at the airport, but in the morning were offered the same plane.

The pilots explained that there had been no fire. The firefighters were just cooling the engine, they said, which had gotten too hot in the Turkish sun.

This is not the first time this year Russians have experienced trouble in the country. Earlier, five tourists died after being poisoned while on holiday in Turkey.

All of them were taking part in a yacht excursion on which tourists were allegedly offered spirits containing methane. Methane is extremely toxic, even in small doses.

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