Plane skids off China runway, on fire; 40 hurt
CURRENTLY, ONE runway of the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport has been closed and the other two are operational, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Southwest Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Beijing, May 12: Over 40 people escaped with bruises and sprains on Thursday when a passenger plane of China’s Tibet Airlines with 113 passengers and nine crew onboard veered off the runway and caught fire while taking off in the country’s southwest Chongqing city, the second major aviation accident in the country in two months.
All the 122 people aboard the Tibet Airlines flight TV9833 from Chongqing to Nyingchi in the Tibet Autonomous Region have been safely evacuated, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said. The Airbus A319-100 had been in service with the airline for nine-and-a-half years, according to the Hong Kongbased South China Morning Post.
The plane bursts into flames after skidding off the runway at the Chongqing airport. Over 40 people who suffered bruising and sprains during the evacuation were taken to a nearby hospital. The crew members aborted the take-off after discovering an anomaly in the Airbus A319 aircraft. The plane caught fire on the left side of its nose after veering off the runway.
All people aboard the plane were evacuated and the injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment. Currently, one runway of the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport has been closed and the other two are operational, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Southwest Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
An investigation into the accident is under way. Video footage posted by China Central Television (CCTV) showed flames and billowing black smoke from the fuselage of the Tibet Airlines plane on the tarmac at Chongqing Jiangbei international airport, the Post reported. People could be seen running from the plane after escaping via an evacuation slide. —