A Turkish Airlines aircraft en route to Burkina Faso's Ouagadougou from Istanbul was struck by a bolt of lightning late Monday. The plane returned safely to its origin after dumping excess fuel into the Marmara Sea due to safety reasons.

The TK-537 coded plane was struck due to heavy rain and cumulonimbus clouds over Istanbul.

After the strike, the pilot of the Boeing 737-900 ER communicated with the control tower at Atatürk Airport and returned back and safely evacuated the passengers.

According to sources, the passengers will be taken to another Turkish Airlines plane for their trip to Burkina Faso.