South Korea airplane fire leaves seven injured

Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in Tuesday's airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said Wednesday, with local media suggesting the blaze may have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin.

The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, according to the country's transport ministry.

A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said.

Authorities initially reported three injuries but revised the number to seven on Wednesday.

One of them is currently hospitalised, the ministry added.

The accident left nearly half of the fuselage burnt but its wings and engines on both sides remain undamaged, it said, adding that the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

"It is unclear when we will be able to disclose the investigation findings on the cause of last night's fire," the ministry spokesperson told AFP.

Dramatic images and footage from local media on Tuesday night showed the aircraft engulfed in flames, with thick smoke appearing to billow from the interior of the plane.

Images from Wednesday morning revealed that the upper half of the fuselage was burned away, leaving a huge hole.

While the ministry did not comment on the possible cause of the fire, Yonhap News Agency reported that the blaze began to spread after black smoke emerged from the overhead compartment in the back row.

"It seems that a fire broke out when a passenger's portable battery, stored in the overhead bin as carry-on luggage, became compressed," local daily JoongAng Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed person affiliated with Air Busan.

"As the smoke filled the cabin, a passenger seated near the emergency exit opened the door, and the flight attendant opened the opposite one, allowing others to start evacuating," a passenger recounted, as quoted by Yonhap.

"It was... chaotic and terrifying."

South Korea suffered the worst aviation disaster on its soil last month when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, flying from Thailand to Muan on December 29, crash-landed and exploded into a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier.

That crash killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew members on board.

"In the wake of the Jeju Air passenger aircraft tragedy, an additional aviation accident has taken place, and we feel deeply sorry for the passengers on board and the public," transport minister Park Sang-woo said in a statement Wednesday.

Agence France-Presse