Nine hurt as Air China plane makes emergency landing in Singapore

September 10, 2023 05:40 PM

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An Air China flight made an emergency landing in Singapore on Sunday after its left engine caught fire, leaving nine of the 155 people on board with minor injuries, authorities said.

Flight CA403 from the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu "encountered smoke in the forward cargo hold and lavatory" while on its way to the city-state, Changi Airport said in a statement on Facebook.

The plane landed at around 4:15 pm (0815 GMT) and "all passengers and crew have evacuated safely", the statement said.

"The fire in the left engine has been put out," it said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said there were 146 passengers and nine crew on board.

"Nine passengers sustained minor injuries related to smoke inhalation and abrasions during the evacuation process. They have since been attended to," it said.

A video clip posted on X, formerly Twitter, showed passengers exiting what appeared to be the stricken aircraft down an emergency slide onto the tarmac.

The runway was closed briefly and one aircraft was diverted to the nearby island of Batam in Indonesia, CAAS said.

It said the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau was investigating the incident and has contacted its Chinese counterpart to help.

Air China did not respond immediately to an AFP query.