Sri Lanka, Nov. 2 -- An emergency landing was declared at Katunayake airport last night after smoke emerged from the cargo bay of a SriLankan Airlines flight arriving from Melbourne, Australia.

SriLankan Airlines Head of Corporate Communications Deepal Perera said the steps were taken to land the aircraft at Katunayake airport under emergency status.

The aircraft involved was SriLankan Airlines flight UL-605, scheduled to land at Katunayake airport at 10:38 PM yesterday.

Fifteen minutes before the scheduled landing, smoke suddenly issued from the lower cargo bay, prompting the pilot to notify the Katunayake airport operations control room.

Following the notification, measures were put in place to station fire engines, doctors, nurses,...