NEW DELHI, May 5 : More than 200 people were evacuated from an IndiGo aircraft at the Chandigarh airport on Tuesday after a passenger’s power bank kept in a seat pocket caught fire and filled the cabin with smoke, according to sources.
The incident happened soon after the A321 aircraft landed from Hyderabad. It operated flight 6E-108.
“After landing during taxi into the bay at Chandigarh, a power bank kept in a pouch in the seat pocket by a passenger seated on 39C caught fire. Aircraft was stopped in the bay,” aviation watchdog DGCA said in a statement.
The regulator said cabin crew used two fire extinguisher bottles to put out the fire, and all six slides of the aircraft were deployed to evacuate the passengers.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also said that no passenger injury has been reported.
However, in a statement, IndiGo said there was an incident involving a customer’s personal electronic equipment catching fire was reported when the IndiGo aircraft was stationary after landing.
“In the interest of safety, an immediate evacuation was carried out, and all the relevant authorities were immediately informed. All customers have been safely moved to the terminal and are being attended to by the team to ensure their well-being,” the statement said.
According to the sources, there were more than 200 people on the aircraft, including 6 crew members.
Initially, sources had said that smoke emanated from an overhead bin due to the power bank catching fire.
In November last year, DGCA advised airlines to prohibit the use of power banks for charging portable electronic devices during flight, in view of safety concerns arising from lithium battery-related incidents.
A passenger who was on board the aircraft told the media that the incident took place as soon as the flight had landed.
The passenger said his wife, who was also on the flight, suffered a twisted ankle during the evacuation of passengers. He also mentioned that his wife and other passengers were evacuated using sliders.
According to him, smoke started to come out from the power bank of a person on the last seat, and the air hostess used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. But a lot of smoke filled up inside the plane, and there was panic, he added.
The air hostess tried to calm down the passengers, but there was panic, the passenger said, adding that emergency gates were opened and evacuation was carried out.
Sliders were put up to help passengers come down. There were children and elderly people on board the plane, he said.
Further, the passenger said his wife was taken to a hospital in Zirakpur, where doctors informed them that she had suffered multiple fractures and surgery could be required. (PTI)
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