[Yonhap News Photo]
An engine fire broke out on a Korean Air jet shortly before takeoff in Tokyo on Friday, but its passengers and crew evacuated safely, South Korean TV footages showed.
Firefighters were seen battling the blaze on the left side of the Boeing 777-300 as it was set to leave Haneda Airport for Seoul with 302 passengers and 17 crew members aboard. No serious injuries were reported but Japanese media said some may have sustained slight injuries.
Footages showed passengers gathered on a wide grassy area next to the runway and emergency chutes deployed from the plane's doors. The exact cause was not determined, but Korean Air said in Seoul that a spark was detected in one of the plane's engines when it was taxing down the runway for takeoff.
The airline company said it would dispatch another passenger jet to bring back the passengers.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
