China: Plane caught fire on runway, dozens injured

The plane carrying 113 passengers and nine crew members skidded off the runway shortly before takeoff at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in Chongqing City. According to Reuters, Tibet Airlines said no one was killed in the accident. About 40 people suffered minor injuries and are being treated at the hospital.

The incident happened when the plane was scheduled to arrive at Nyingchi Airport in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Airbus A319 that crashed was more than 9 years old.

The plane caught fire on the runway on the morning of May 12. Photo: Twitter

Surveillance cameras showed the plane skidding off the runway as it was about to take off. Fire and black smoke enveloped the left side of the plane. Passengers and crew members are said to have exited the plane safely through the emergency exit system in the right rear of the plane.

Firefighters were immediately on the scene and extinguished the fire. The flight’s take-off runway was temporarily closed.

The incident occurred just two months after the China Eastern Airlines crash on March 21. The airline’s Boeing 737-800 crashed in the mountains of southern China, killing 132 people.