Terrifying moment fire breaks out on plane travelling at 33,000ft

Passengers screamed in terror when a fire broke out inside the cabin forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.

Panic ensued on board an Air China flight after orange flames and smoke billowed from an overhead compartment

Videos online showed travellers and air cabin staff rushing to the ignited overhead cabin to put out the flames.

Shouts and screams from other passengers can be heard in the footage, with some calling for the cabin crew to ‘hurry up’ in Korean.

The packed A321 Airbus, travelling from Hangzhou, eastern China, to Incheon in South Korea, was already 33,000ft in the air when the fire broke out.

Cabin staff were able to put out the fire and extinguish the flames, the passengers said.

The plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport.

Luckily, no one was injured.

Air China confirmed the fire started after a power bank stored inside carry-on luggage caught fire.

‘On October 18, on flight CA139 from Hangzhou to Incheon, a lithium battery in a passenger’s carry-on luggage stored in the overhead compartment spontaneously ignited,’ the airline said.

The incident is the latest involving lithium batteries on planes after concerns were raised about safety risks.

In June, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) banned passengers from carrying power banks and other lithium batteries on board domestic flights.

Batteries without the standard 3C labelling and lithium-ion batteries, often found in power banks, have been banned – a move prompted by an increase in batteries catching fire on board.

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