The incident was reported on a China Southern Airlines flight to Shanghai on Sunday
A domestic flight in China was delayed by nearly three hours when a power bank kept in the overhead compartment caught fire. The electronic device went up in flames shortly before takeoff while passengers were still boarding the plane. Fortunately, the fire was put out successfully and no person was reported injured.
Video taken by a passenger on-board shows a carry-on luggage covered in flames. A flight attendant promptly throws bottled water at the fire. A passenger joins in by throwing... em, juice at the burning device. They successfully contain the fire within a few seconds.
Photos and
videos of the incident were posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo and soon went viral on other platforms.
According to People's Daily China, the incident happened on a China Southern Airline flight To Shanghai on Sunday. The plane was still in Guangzhou when the power bank caught fire.
Passengers were boarding the flight CZ3539 when smoke and fire were seen coming from a passenger's bag in the overhead bin,
Channel NewsAsia quotes a statement posted by the airline on Weibo.
According to the statement, the fire was put out with the help of fire and security departments and there was no further damage or injuries. The passenger who owned the bag was brought in to help authorities in the investigation. According to preliminary probe, the device was not in use when it caught fire.
Passengers were disembarked from the plane following the incident and allocated a new aircraft which took off nearly three hours later, according to information from flight tracking website
FlightAware.
On social media, the attendant's firefighting techniques involving water and juice came under much criticism.
Defending the flight crew's timely action, the airline said
on Weibo that water was the best way to fight a fire linked to Lithium batteries.Click for more
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