SEOUL, Jan 28 — An Airbus plane belonging to South Korean carrier Air Busan caught fire today at Gimhae International Airport in the country’s south while preparing for departure to Hong Kong, fire authorities said.
All 169 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated, with one person with a minor injury taken to hospital, fire authorities in Busan said.
The fire started inside the plane, the fire service said. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said it began in the plane’s tail.
It is a month since the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil when a Jeju Air plane coming from Bangkok crashed on Muan Airport’s runway as it made an emergency belly landing, killing all but two of the 181 people and crew members on board.
Budget airline Air Busan is part of South Korea’s Asiana Airlines, which in December was acquired by Korean Air. The plane is an Airbus A321 model, according to FlightRadar24 tracking data.
Planemaker Airbus said it is aware of reports about the incident and it is liaising with Air Busan.
— Reuters
