A harrowing incident unfolded on an Air China flight wherein nine passengers sustained injuries due to an engine fire that filled the cabin with dense smoke, leading to a hastily executed evacuation of the aircraft.
The aircraft in question, the Airbus A320, carried a total of 155 people onboard, including 146 passengers and nine crew members. It was forced to perform an emergency landing around 4:15 p.m. on a Sunday evening at Singapore’s Changi Airport. The flight originated from Chengdu, nestled in China’s Sichuan province.
The resultant injuries suffered by nine individuals ranged from minor smoke inhalation to slight abrasions, both sequels to the frantic yet necessary evacuation of the plane.
After noticing smoke seeping into the forward cargo hold and a lavatory, the pilot promptly declared an emergency. The smoke, increasing in density, began obscuring the cabin lights. Flight attendants assumed control of maintaining order in an atmosphere of rising panic, firmly instructing passengers to remain seated, following a few rising to their feet amid the chaos, as per a passenger’s account to Chinese media.
Post landing, the blaze that raged in the left engine of the aircraft was successfully doused. Initial reports presented by Chinese media proposed a mechanical failure in the engine as the underlying cause of the fire. Further affirming this, Air China issued an early Monday statement via social media claiming a technical malfunction in the engine as the potential trigger for this terrifying ordeal.
