Well, this is certainly shocking! Recently, a power bank reportedly caught fire while on a plane, which caused some panic on the flight. The passengers had to be deplaned and they boarded a replacement aircraft after the incident.
According to CNA, the fire happened on Sunday (Feb 25) on a China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai. The passengers were boarding the flight when they spotted smoke and fire billowing out from an overhead compartment, which gave them a scare.
Source: CNA
The passengers were quickly evacuated from the plane while crew and firefighters rushed to put out the fire. Luckily, the fire was brought under control and only caused minimal damage to the cabin. Phew! Preliminary investigations showed that the fire came from a passenger’s bag in the overhead compartment.
Apparently, the fire was said to be caused by a power bank that had been left in the bag, which had somehow ignited. The bag’s owner was brought to the police to assist in investigations and it was reported that the power bank was not in use when the fire broke out.
Source: SCMP
Passengers on the CZ3539 flight were put on a replacement aircraft, which departed the airport almost three hours after the scheduled time. Videos of the incident circulated on social media, which showed what looks like a flight attendant and a passenger putting out the fire with bottles of water and juice.
This prompted netizens to comment, “How come they didn’t use the fire extinguisher on the plane?” SCMP reported that the airline praised the quick actions of their staff, saying, “Our colleague reacted to the fire in a timely and appropriate way.”
Source: Twitter
Lithium-ion batteries has long been banned by the International Civil Aviation Organization as check-in luggage on a passenger aircraft because they have the potential to be fire risks. However, they are allowed as hand-carry luggage.
Watch the video here:
Source: Twitter
Thankfully, there was no reported injuries!
Also read: All Power Banks Sold in Malaysia Should Have SIRIM Certification Starting 2018
