On Monday, a plane carrying Saudi Arabia's national football team caught fire en-route to the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, just ahead of a World Cup match against Uruguay on June 20, according to the Guardian.
In an official statement on Twitter, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation reassured the public, stating that "all the Saudi national team players are safe, after a technical failure in one of the airplane engines that has just landed in Rostov-on-Don airport, and now they're heading to their residence safely."
A video of the horrifying incident surfaced online. In it, ignited flames were seen rising from beneath one of the wings. Fortunately, the plane - Rossiya Airlines - landed safely and no injuries were reported.
The airline issued a statement claiming the preliminary cause of the malfunction was a "bird flying into the engine," several media outlets stated.
"As flight FV1007 from St Petersburg to Rostov-on-Don began to land, the (Airbus) A319 plane suffered a technical fault with one of its engines, with a bird getting caught seen as the preliminary cause," said a Rossiya airlines spokesman, according to The Mirror.
"Nothing threatened the safety of the passengers. The aircraft's landing took place in a routine fashion. No warning was sounded during the landing at Rostov-on-Don airport," he added.
"The fire was merely an accident"
"The Saudi national team airplane that developed a technical fault is not carried out by the Saudi Arabian airlines"
The Saudi football federation also shared photos of the Green Falcon team exiting the plane, confirming their safe arrival upon landing.
The airline has no link to Saudia, also known as 'Saudi Arabian Airlines'.
According to The Mirror, the aircraft was built 12 years ago for U.S.-based Frontier Airlines. It was then bought out by Russia-based Donavia Airline in 2013. Rossiya Airlines leased the plane in April 2016.
It was provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for teams participating in the World Cup.
During the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Saudi Arabia lost to Russia with a 5-0 score.
The kingdom's national team is expected to play against Uruguay on June 20 and then against Egypt on June 25.