S Korean passenger plane catches fire, 176 people evacuated

SEOUL: The rear section of a passenger aircraft caught fire at an airport in South Korea on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of 176 people on board, authorities said.

The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan but caught fire at around 10:15 pm local time (1315 GMT), the transport ministry said in a statement.

A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said.

The statement gave no information about the cause of the fire other than to say it broke out in the rear of the aircraft.

The National Fire Agency said three people were slightly injured during the evacuation. The fire was completely extinguished by 11:31 pm local time, it said.

South Korea suffered the worst aviation disaster on its soil last month when a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800, flying from Thailand to Muan on December 29, crash-landed and exploded into a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier. That crash killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew members on board.