Compiled by C.ARUNO, FARIK ZOLKEPLI AND R.ARAVINTAN
A PASSENGER on board a flight shared her frightening experience when smoke suddenly emerged from the front of the airplane, Sin Chew Daily reported. The plane, which was heading to Shanghai from the Philippines, was forced to make an emergency landing at the Hong Kong International Airport on Monday after a power bank exploded on board.
According to the passenger, whose surname is Yang, the plane took off from Boracay island at around 5.30pm and was scheduled to land in Shanghai at 9pm. Mid-flight, an acrid smell jolted Yang from her rest, after which she saw smoke billowing from the front of the cabin.According to Yang, flight attendants rushed past her to put out the fire.
The pilot then announced that they were making an emergency landing in Hong Kong.
Video footage captured the panic and distress as passengers hurried to the back of the aircraft to evade the smoke.
Fortunately, it was determined that the source of the smoke was a malfunctioning power bank.
According to Yang, firefighters and police officers came on board to inspect passengers’ carry-on luggage and ensure no one was hurt.
“After the check was completed, the plane took off again at 10.30pm ... We arrived in Shanghai around midnight,” Yang said. It was reported that devices and electronics brought into China with lithium-ion batteries, including power banks, must have a watt-hour rating of less than 160Wh.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
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