Twelve passengers have been detained by Abu Dhabi security authorities after multiple fires were lit on board a flight from Australia.
Passengers described dramatic scenes on board the Etihad Airways flight from Melbourne when alarms sounded and smoke poured into the cabin.
The flight was first diverted to Jakarta as the smoke billowed from the plane’s lavatories.
The plane took off again but more smoke was detected.
The series of small fires filled the cabin with smoke, panicking passengers and setting off smoke alarms.
The cabin crew then locked down all toilets.
"I looked and saw flames coming from the bin in the toilet, and two cabin crew members put it out," one passenger said.
Investigations are continuing although no arrests have been made.
