Scramble – Seven people underwent mainly minor injuries on Tuesday when an airplane caught fire at an airport in South Korea, the authorities announced on Wednesday, local media suggesting that the fire may have been caused by a portable battery stored in the garbage can. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was to go to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in the south-east of Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday evening, according to the country’s transport ministry.
A total of 169 passengers and seven on-board agents and staff were evacuated from inflatable slides, he said.
The authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number to seven on Wednesday. One of them remained hospitalized, added the ministry.
Yonhap / Reuters press agency
South Korea underwent the worst aviation disaster on its soil last month, when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, flying from Thailand to Muan on December 29 accident and exploded In a fire ball after slamming in a concrete barrier at the end of the track.
This accident killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew members on board. Investigators found duck blood and feathers in the two engines of the plane, but have not yet determined in a conclusive manner, which caused the accident.
“In the wake of the tragedy of Jeju Air passenger planes, an additional aviation accident took place, and we feel deeply sorry for passengers on board and the public,” said Minister of Transport Park on Wednesday Blood-woo in a press release.
The Tuesday evening accident left almost half of the burned fuselage, but the wings and engines of the plane remained in good condition, said the ministry, adding that the cause of the fire was subject to ‘An investigation.
“We do not know when we can disclose the results of the cause of the fire of last night,” the ministry spokesman for AFP told.
The dramatic images of local media on Tuesday evening showed that the plane has swallowed up in the flames, with thick smoke escaping from the inside of the plane.
Wednesday morning images revealed that the upper half of the fuselage was burned, leaving a huge hole.
Yonhap news agency via Reuters
Although the ministry did not comment on a possible cause of the fire, the Yonhap news agency in South Korea reported that the fire had started to spread after the black smoke came out of a compartment air in the rear row.
“It seems that a fire broke out when the portable battery of a passenger, stored in the trash as a hand luggage, has compressed himself,” said local daily Jongang Ilbo, citing an anonymous air -affiliated person Busan.
“While the smoke filled the cabin, a passenger seated near the emergency exit opened the door, and the on -board agent opened the opposite, allowing others to start evacuating”, a passenger told to Yonhap, calling for the “chaotic and terrifying” incident.
