Plane veers off, catches fire

Beijing – A Tibet Airlines plane caught fire yesterday after veering off the runway at a Chinese airport, but all passengers and crew were “safely evacuated”, the airline said.

The flight, carrying 113 passengers and nine crew, was headed from the southwestern city of Chongqing to Tibet’s Nyingchi when “abnormalities” were noticed and takeoff was suspended, causing the jet to overrun the runway, the company said in a statement.