An Air China Airbus A330 burst into flames right as passengers and crew were boarding, forcing an emergency evacuation of the immediate area at Beijing Airport.
There have been no reports of injuries and emergency services are on the scene battling the blaze which erupted in the cargo hold of Air China flight CA976 Tuesday.
The plane had only recently landed from Singapore and the fire erupted as fresh passengers were boarding the aircraft. Eyewitness footage shows passengers filming the flames engulfing the plane they were due to board from the safety of the gangway.
The cause of the blaze is as yet unknown.
Air China posted a statement on Weibo that said crew members and airport staff had successfully tackled the fire.
“Smoke was detected during boarding in the storage unit of flight CA183, which is set to fly from Beijing to Tokyo,” it said.
“Crew members and airport staff have successfully put out the smoke. We are investigating the cause of the incident.”
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