A Virgin Atlantic aircraft collided with a British Airways jet at Heathrow Airport, triggering a significant emergency response on Saturday.

The Virgin 787 plane, which was empty, was being towed at Terminal 3 when it reportedly clipped the wing of the BA Airbus A350 passenger plane, according to witnesses.

Although reports suggest the Virgin aircraft was full of passengers bound for Accra, British Airways has yet to confirm this.

Emergency services, including at least five fire engines, rushed to the scene, while the Air Accident Investigation Branch is investigating.

Thankfully, both planes were moving at low speeds, and there have been no reports of injuries.

A Virgin spokesman stated: “The wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft while being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3. The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We can confirm no customers were on board the Virgin Atlantic aircraft during this time. We’ve commenced a full and thorough investigation. Our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service.”

The aircraft is undergoing maintenance checks, and Virgin Atlantic’s flight schedule remains unaffected.

The tow operation was conducted by a ground handling company contracted by Virgin Atlantic.

Alex Whittles, a passenger on another plane, witnessed the incident and tweeted about it: “Just witnessed a plane crash at Heathrow! A tug pushing back a Virgin 787, crashed the wing into a BA A350.”

The British Airways plane had recently arrived from Accra and was scheduled to depart on the return journey at 12.40pm from Gate 25 at Terminal 3.