Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black are safely on their way back home

Tom Daley and boyfriend Dustin Lance Black along with 300 other Virgin Atlantic passengers and crew are returning to the UK after yesterday’s emergency landing in Russia.

Tom Daley tweeted: “We are coming home!!!! Flight leaves in around an hour 😀 can’t wait to be back home! Thanks for working hard to get us home @VirginAtlantic.”

The Olympic diver, who last week came fourth at the diving World Cup in Shanghai, was on his way back to the UK for the Commonwealth games when he was caught in mid-air drama yesterday.

A Virgin Atlantic flight he was on had to dump its fuel in mid-air above Russia and make an emergency landing.

He tweeted: “Scary to emergency land in RUS after recent events, yet no word on what problem is after hour surrounded by fire engines #VirginAtlantic.”

A spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic said yesterday: “Virgin Atlantic can confirm that the VS251 travelling from Shanghai to London Heathrow has diverted to Irkutsk Airport, Russia, as a precautionary measure due to a technical issue. Safety and security is always our top priority.

“The aircraft is currently on the ground and our customers are being looked after by our cabin crew. Our priority now is to ensure our customers resume their journey as soon as possible. The airline would like to thank passengers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

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