Passenger plane catches fire during takeoff in China; 25 injured

Beijing, May 12: In a major accident, as many as 25 people were injured after a passenger plane veered off the runway during take-off and caught fire at an airport in southwest China's Chongqing on Thursday.

 

 

Visuals from the site showed flames and smoke emerging from the flight. The plane was sprayed with water cannons to douse the fire. The passenger plane operated by Tibet Airlines was carrying 113 passengers and nine crew members were on board, Xinhua reported citing airport sources as saying. All passengers aboard the plane were evacuated and the injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

 

 

"The injured passengers were all only lightly injured and have been sent to hospital for treatment," the airline said in a statement. The Tibet Airlines flight TV9833/ A319/ B-6425 was scheduled to fly from Chongqing to Nyingchi. However, according to the airline, the take-off was suspended after certain 'abnormalities' were detected. In the process, the flight skid off the runway.

 

"The left side of the aircraft's nose caught fire", Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport said in a statement. The airport further said that the cause of the accident is being investigated.

 

 

On March 21, a China Eastern flight traveling from Kunming to Guangzhou plunged 29000 feet and killed all the 132 passengers on board. While two black boxes for the flight were recovered, no reason has been given for the crash, believed to be China's deadliest plane mishap in over three decades.