Shortly before take-off: passengers have to be evacuated from burning plane

Busan (South Korea) - 176 passengers narrowly escaped a major airplane accident in South Korea! Shortly before take-off, a fire suddenly broke out in the passenger compartment of the plane. A short time later, the plane was ablaze and all passengers had to be evacuated.

According to a report by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the fire broke out last Tuesday evening at the airport in Busan, a city around 320 kilometers south-east of the capital Seoul. The plane involved is part of the aircraft fleet of the South Korean low-cost airline "Air Busan".

As some passengers reported afterwards, they heard a faint crackling noise in the overhead luggage compartment, accompanied by dark smoke and the smell of fire. The exact cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed. It is currently believed that an external battery or a rechargeable battery such as that of a cell phone, power bank or laptop may have started the fire.

However, the police cannot yet rule out the possibility that the fire could have been a terrorist-motivated attack.

A total of 176 passengers and crew members had to be evacuated from the aircraft after the fire broke out. As the aircraft was fortunately still on the ground, the passengers were able to get out via the emergency slides. Despite the quick rescue, a total of seven people were slightly injured.

These were four crew members who complained of chest pain due to the smoke and three other women who suffered pain in their coccyx or back.