Nine injured after Air China engine fire prompts evacuation on runway

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Passengers aboard an Air China flight were forced to evacuate via emergency slides onto the tarmac of Singapore Changi Airport due to an engine fire, officials said.

Nine people suffered minor injuries related to smoke inhalation and the rapid exiting of the aircraft, according to a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Flight CA401 with 146 passengers and nine crew onboard was flying from Chengdu, China, to Singapore Changi Airport when at about 4 p.m. Sunday, local time, smoke was reported coming from the forward cargo hold and lavatory, the aviation authority said.

After the smoke was discovered, the aircraft declared an emergency and requested priority landing, which was granted and the plane touched down on Runway 3 at about 4:15 p.m., when the emergency slides were deployed to facilitate what the aviation authority described as an "expeditious evacuation."

The fire was located in the left engine and was put out about 10 minutes after landing, officials said.

"All passengers and crew were evacuated safely and ferried by bus to the terminal," it said, adding that the injured passengers have been "attended to" and all passengers and crew are being assisted by Air China and Changi Airport Group.

The emergency forced airport officials to temporary close Runway 3, which was reopened at about 7 p.m. after the disabled aircraft had been removed though the closure forced the diversion of a flight to Indonesia.

"The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau is investigating the incident and has contacted its Chinese counterpart who will be assisting with the investigation," it said.

According to an Air China statement published to Weibo and reported on by CNN, the fire was caused by a mechanical failure of the engine but further investigation is underway.