Hong Kong flight makes emergency landing after fire in overhead compartment

None of the 168 passengers or crew members were hurt

Representational: Hong Kong Airlines (Getty)

A Hong Kong Airlines flight made an emergency landing in China’s Fuzhou after a fire broke out midair in an overhead compartment.

The fire in the overhead compartment caused panic among passengers as smoke filled the cabin.

The HX115 flight had taken off from Hangzhou, China, for Hong Kong at 12.20pm on Thursday and landed at the Fuzhou Changle international airport in Fujian province at 2.01pm.

The fire was put out by the flight attendants and none of the 168 passengers or crew members were hurt, the airline said.

The airline said it was assisting passengers and arranging another flight to Hong Kong.

Footage of the incident posted on social media showed cabin crew and some of the passengers trying to extinguish the fire by pouring water from bottles and liquid dripping onto seats.

The pilot could be heard announcing they were aware of the situation and would make a “precautionary landing” in Fuzhou.

According to local media reports, the passengers suspected a power bank in one of the pieces of luggage in an overhead compartment caused the fire. However, the airlines didn’t offer any details about the cause of the fire and Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department said it would follow up on the incident.

Lithium batteries used in devices like laptops, mobile phones, electronic cigarettes and power banks have led to heightened concerns about their safety in recent years.

These batteries can overheat, explode or catch fire if they are damaged, overcharged or have manufacturing defects.

In early March, a Batik Air flight was filled with smoke from a burning power bank minutes before it landed in Bangkok, panicking passengers.

A nearly four-minute clip posted on TikTok showed smoke spreading and filling the cabin space while flight attendants checked overhead baggage compartments for the source.

In January, an Air Busan plane was destroyed after a portable power bank sparked a major fire. Three people sustained minor injuries in the incident at the Gimhae international airport. The South Korean airline later said it would not allow passengers to carry power banks in luggage stored in overhead cabin bins.