Korean air jet catches fire at Tokyo’s Haneda airport

An engine fire broke out on a Korean Air jet about to take off from a Tokyo on Friday, authorities said.

The incident prompted authorities to temporarily close down Japan’s busiest aviation hub.

Firefighters put out the blaze within the hour. No injuries were reported, although around 30 passengers said they felt unwell, according to state-owned broadcaster NHK.

Japanese television broadcast live images of at least two fire trucks blanketing the left-side engine and almost the entire side of the Boeing 777 with what appeared to be white foam as smoke came out the back of the engine.

A large crowd was gathered on a wide grassy area next to the runway at Haneda Airport and near the choppy waters of Tokyo Bay. Emergency chutes were deployed from the plane’s doors.

All 302 passengers and 17 crewmembers were evacuated, aid Kyosuke Okada, a government official assigned to Haneda Airport.

Flight 2708 was headed to Seoul.

Okada said the cause of the fire was unknown. The aircraft is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines.

Haneda Airport handles around 550 flights a day with around 75 million passengers passing through the hub last year, making it one of the world’s busiest airports.

Source: NBC News