China’s Tibet Airlines plane catches fire during take-off, causes injuries in Chongqing city [Watch]
Over 40 passengers were injured when a plane of Tibet Airlines with 113 passengers and nine crew onboard diverged on the runway and caught fire while taking off in southwest Chongqing city on 12th May, this was the second major aviation accident in the country in two months.
“All the 122 people aboard the Tibet Airlines flight TV9833 from Chongqing to Nyingchi in the Tibet Autonomous Region have been safely evacuated,” the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said.
“The Airbus A319-100 had been in service with the airline for nine-and-a-half years,” as maintained by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. The aircraft bursts into flames after skidding off the runway at the Chongqing airport.
Here's the video:
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
Over 40 passengers who sustained bruising and sprains during the evacuation process were taken to a hospital. Video posted by China Central Television (CCTV) displayed flames and black smoke from the fuselage of the plane on the tarmac at Chongqing Jiangbei international airport, the Post reported.
People could be seen running after escaping via an evacuation slide at the rear exit. The CCTV said the fire had been put off and the runway shut. The aircraft was about to depart for Nyingchi in Tibet when the incident happened.
According to the airline, the cause of the accident is being probed. The CAAC said a team had been sent to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire, which started after the plane’s engine rubbed against the ground as it veered off the runway.
The plane aborted the departure for the Tibetan city of Nyingchi when the aircraft ran off the runway at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport at around 8 a.m.
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First published: 12 May 2022, 13:01 IST