Airport closed by plane fire

The airport was closed for less than an hour

East Midlands Airport had to be closed to flights after a plane caught fire as it came into land.

About 40 firefighters were called to the scene after the Boeing 727 freight plane with three people on board developed a fire in one of its engines.

The incident happened just before 0330 GMT on Tuesday when the DHL cargo plane was landing.

The fire was put out by the airport' s own emergency crews, although back-up engines were brought in from Derbyshire and Leicestershire fire services.

An airport spokeswoman said the airport was closed between 0327 and 0410, but no other flights were affected by the shut down.

"There was a full-scale emergency just in case but it was dealt with in minutes.

"The three people on board were all uninjured."

She said both the airport and DHL would be investigating how the fire began.