On camera, plane catches fire at China airport; Over 100 evacuated - report

A Tibet Airlines plane went off the runway on Thursday at an airport in China’s Chongqing and caught fire, news agency AFP reported, citing local media.

All 113 passengers and nine crew members were safely evacuated. Those who suffered minor injuries were taken to a hospital, the airline was quoted as saying by state-run ‘People’s Daily’.

Visuals shared on social media captured the huge fire on the runway where the plane was landed with smoke billowing in the sky. The evacuation team on the ground was seen watering the plane and the surroundings to put off the blaze.

The flight was headed to Tibet’s Nyingchi when the crew noticed “abnormalities” and “suspended take off”, causing the jet to overrun the runway and catch fire, news agency AFP quoted the company as saying in a statement. “All passengers and crew have been safely evacuated,” the airlines said.

This incident comes nearly two months after a passenger plane – China Eastern Boeing 737-800 – nosedived and slammed into the ground in a mountainous area in Southern China, killing all 132 passengers. It was said to be China’s deadliest crash in around 30 years. While no reason was cited for the disaster, two flight recorders, or ‘black boxes’, were recovered that are being analysed in the United States in hopes of unlocking the mystery behind the crash.

A plane veered off the runway during take-off and caught fire at an airport in SW China's Chongqing on Thursday morning. 113 passengers and 9 crew members have been evacuated safely and some people slightly injured have been sent to hospital, said the Tibet Airlines. pic.twitter.com/FUZX3MSnfA
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) May 12, 2022