Passengers on an Air China flight witnessed a lithium battery burst into flames in luggage that had been placed in an overhead bin on Saturday.
The flight was on its way to Seoul but had to make an emergency landing in Shanghai when the incident happened, the New York Post reported.
The plane had departed Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport just before 10:00 a.m. with 160 people onboard, the Post said, citing the airline and Chinese state media.
When the battery ignited, travelers began calling out for help to quell the flames.
“Two flight attendants sprinted down the aisle carrying fire extinguishers while others shouted for travelers to remain seated,” the Post article continued.
“A passenger quoted by local media said they heard a loud explosion moments before flames shot from the storage bin,” the outlet noted.
Video footage shows two people sitting underneath the bin as the flames grow and smoke comes out of the storage container.
Another clip shows several passengers taking out their cellphones to record the incident as a man is seen waving to flight attendants who run down the aisle to help:
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident, and local reports said the fire was believed to be caused by a power bank battery.
“The Federal Aviation Administration warns that lithium-ion batteries can undergo ‘thermal runaway,’ a self-heating reaction that can trigger explosions if a cell is damaged, overheated, overcharged or exposed to water,” the Post article said.
In August 2024, a house fire erupted at an Oklahoma family’s residence when their dog chewed on a lithium-ion battery.
A few months later, a lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Missouri caught fire and exploded. All 75 workers at the scene were able to escape, per Breitbart News.
More recently, a huge fire broke out at a California power plant in a building containing lithium-ion batteries, the outlet reported in January.
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