A fire broke out inside the cabin of an airplane of China Southern Airlines while it was boarding at the Guangzhou airport around noon on Sunday.
No injuries have been reported and the fire was immediately extinguished.
But then, the incident triggered a three-hour delay as declared by the airline in a statement. The company also said that it was believed to have been caused by a portable mobile phone charger that had been stowed in an overhead compartment by a passenger as per a preliminary investigation.
The charger was not in use when the fire broke out.
While passengers were boarding flight CZ3539 from Guangzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao airport, flames and smoke started billowing from the overhead locker and the cabin crew evacuated the airplane.
The crew and firefighters put out the fire on the Boeing 777-300ER wide-body jet airliner and the cabin just escaped with a minor damage.
On its official Weibo account the airline appreciated the quick reaction of one of the flight attendants. The owner of the charger was then taken away by police for further investigation and rest of the passengers were put on an alternative flight.
Tags: china southern airlines
