Passenger plane catches fire at South Korean airport, all 176 people on board evacuated
Seoul, Jan 28 (AP): A passenger plane caught fire before takeoff at an airport in South Korea late Tuesday, but all 176 people on board were safely evacuated, authorities said.
The Airbus plane operated by South Korean airline Air Busan was preparing to leave for Hong Kong when its rear parts caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in the southeast, the Transport Ministry said in a statement.
All of the plane's 169 passengers, six crewmembers and one engineer were evacuated using an escape slide, the ministry statement said.
The National Fire Agency said in a release that three people suffered minor injuries during the evacuation. The fire agency said the fire was completely put out at 11:31 pm, about one hour after it deployed firefighters and fire trucks at the scene.
The cause of the fire wasn't immediately known. The Transport Ministry said the plane is an A321 model.
Tuesday's incident came a month after a Jeju Air passenger plane crashed at Muan International Airport in southern South Korea, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. It was one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea's aviation history.
The Boeing 737-800 skidded off the airport's runaway on Dec 29 after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into a concrete structure and bursting into flames. The flight was returning from Bangkok and all of the victims were South Koreans except for two Thai nationals.
The first report on the crash released Monday said authorities have confirmed traces of bird strikes in the plane's engines, though officials haven't determined the cause of the accident.
Now: Air Busan Airbus A321 caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in South Korea — a fire broke out in the tail section of the aircraft prior to departure.
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) January 28, 2025
All of the 169 passengers and seven crews onboard have evacuted safely, per state news agency. pic.twitter.com/ax2I1BslYZ
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Delhi's air quality in 'very poor' category at 386, 'severe' at 16 stations
New Delhi (PTI): The air quality in the national capital was recorded in the "very poor" category on Sunday morning, with an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 386, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Data from the CPCB's Sameer app revealed that 16 monitoring stations in the city reported air quality in the "severe" category, while the remaining stations recorded "very poor" levels.
As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good", 51 to 100 "satisfactory", 101 to 200 "moderate", 201 to 300 "poor", 301 to 400 "very poor", and 401 to 500 "severe".
The minimum temperature settled at 9.4 degrees Celsius, which is 1.3 degrees above the season's average, while the humidity was recorded at 91 per cent at 8:30 am, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 17 degrees Celsius, with the IMD forecasting a yellow alert for the city due to moderate fog.
