Seoul: A 176-seat passenger plane caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, shortly before it was set to take off on Tuesday night. Local reports said all passengers and crew members were safely evacuated.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the flight was an Air Busan flight heading to Hong Kong. The fire started in the plane’s tail section. The 169 passengers and seven crew members were rapidly evacuated via an inflatable slide. Three people suffered minor injuries that were not considered serious.
Officials declined to comment on the cause of the fire. Calls to fire officials in Busan went unanswered as of late Wednesday afternoon.
It also comes weeks after a tragic aviation accident in December at Muan International Airport. A Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway after its landing gear failed to extend and crashed, killing 179 of the 181 people onboard. Returning from Bangkok, the plane erupted on impact with a concrete structure.
The latest incident at Gimhae International Airport follows continuing concerns about aviation safety in South Korea. Although the rapid evacuation of passengers in Tuesday’s incident avoided a potential disaster, an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.
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