All 300 passengers, which included two Australians, and crew were safely evacuated from the gutted Boeing 777-300 after a crash that one survivor described as terrifying. Fourteen people were admitted to hospital.
A video recorded by a passenger on the flight has captured the moments when passengers were frantically asked to leave their "bags behind and jump".
Baada ya ndege ya Emirates kupata ajali Dubai pic.twitter.com/fyvWZi5lf5 — issamichuzi (@issamichuzi) August 3, 2016
The carrier's first significant accident happened after the crew apparently attempted to abort the landing for a second attempt amid unconfirmed witness reports of landing gear problems.
The video showed a tower of flame bursting from the front of the plane, and then a thick black plume of smoke rising into the sky. Reuters was unable to verify the footage independently.
#EmiratesCrash pic.twitter.com/CJu91TnCHK — Naved Jafri (@NavedJafri_BOO) August 3, 2016
Photographs on social media showed a plane lying crumpled on the tarmac with black smoke pouring from its upper section, and later images showed a gap along the length of the charred fuselage where its roof had been.
"It was actually really terrifying. As we were landing there was smoke coming out in the cabin," said passenger Sharon Maryam Sharji.
"People were screaming and we had a very hard landing.
#EmiratesCrash pic.twitter.com/8sSrOPfRxT — Naved Jafri (@NavedJafri_BOO) August 3, 2016
"We left by going down the emergency slides and as we were leaving on the runway we could see the whole plane catch fire. It was horrifying."
Another passenger leaving the airport with his family said there had been a problem with the landing gear.
Shaji Kochikutty, who was on board the plane with his wife and three daughters, recounted surviving the "near disaster".
"We are grateful to be alive. What more can we ask for?" the Dubai-based businessman said, speaking to weekly newspaper XPRESS.
After the plane caught fire on landing, airline staff "opened all emergency exits and guided us out," Kochikutty said.
A spokesman for operator Dubai Airports said everyone aboard flight EK521 coming from Thiruvananthapuram in southern India had been evacuated.
Flights at Dubai International resumed at 6.30pm on Wednesday (2330 AEST) after all arrivals and departures were suspended for over five hours, authorities said.
