World
Plane carrying 122 skids off runway, catches fire
Staff noticed "abnormalities" and "suspended take off", causing the jet to overrun the runway and catch fire.
Beijing: At least 25 people sustained injuries after a passenger plane, carrying 113 passengers and nine crew, caught fire on Thursday at a Chinese airport after veering off the runway.
As per details, the flight was headed from the southwestern city of Chongqing to Tibet's Nyingchi.
While en route to Tibet, the airline staff noticed "abnormalities" and "suspended take off", causing the jet to overrun the runway and catch fire, said Tibet Airlines in a statement.
“The injured passengers were all only lightly injured, and have been sent to hospital for treatment,” airline added.
Tibet Airlines, suffered runway excursion and fire at 8:09 a.m. (0009 GMT) as the flight was preparing to take off from the western city of Chongqing.
The images of the flight bursting into flames went viral on social media, showing flames engulfing the wing of the stricken jet as terrified passengers ran from the scene.
The incident follows the crash of a Chinese Eastern Boeing 737-800 in southeastern China on March 21 in which all 132 people on board were killed.
That accident, in which the plane went into a sudden nosedive and slammed into the ground in a mountainous area, remains under investigation.
The incident comes after a China Eastern flight travelling from Kunming to Guangzhou plunged from 29,000 feet into a mountainside in March, killing all 132 people on board.
No reason for that crash has been given for the disaster, China’s deadliest in around 30 years.