We don't know how the chutes opened on the left side. Passengers were evacuated only from the right side of the plane where there was no fire,' Bhargava said.

'The chutes on the fire side, in fact, opened 30 minutes after the passengers were evacuated. We don't know who opened these chutes,' the Air India spokesperson told IANS, when asked how the slides were seen open on both sides in TV footage.

Airport officials also confirmed Bhargava's contention and said officers of the fire service had opened the aircraft's doors and the chutes on the left side for cross-ventilation to clear the smoke.

Both Air India and the DGCA have begun probing the incident involving the AI-829 flight, deployed on Boeing 747-437 aircraft named 'Konark' that was bound for the Saudi capital from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

The Air India spokesperson said contrary to reports, the aviation regulator had not blamed the carrier for the incident.

'We have no word from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), nor have they blamed us as some sections of the media are reporting,' Bhargava said.