An Air China plane was safely diverted to Shanghai on Saturday after a battery stored in a passenger’s carry-on luggage caught fire, the airline said. The incident occurred aboard the flight from the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou to Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea.
“The crew immediately handled the situation according to procedures and no one was injured,” the statement said, adding that the plane was diverted to Shanghai Pudong International Airport “to ensure the safety of the flight.” An image taken by a passenger and published by the state-affiliated national media outlet Jimu News shows flames in an overhead storage compartment. Black smoke was also seen and at least one passenger trying to put out the fire.
U-turn over the sea
According to data from the site Flightradar24, which tracks air traffic around the world, the flight took off from Hangzhou at 9:47 local time (3:47 French continental time). It made a U-turn over the sea, approximately the same distance from the east coast of China and the Japanese island of Kyushu, before landing in Shanghai shortly after 11:00 local time (05:00 French mainland time).
Source: BFM TV
