‘Power bank fire’ on Hong Kong Airlines flight forces plane to divert to Fuzhou

An inbound Hong Kong Airlines flight from the mainland Chinese city of Hangzhou was forced to divert to Fuzhou after a fire broke out on board the aircraft on Thursday, with passengers suspecting the blaze was caused by a power bank.

According to the airline, a fire broke out in one of its overhead compartments, forcing the aircraft to land at Fuzhou Changle International Airport. The carrier noted that it is supporting 160 affected passengers and eight crew members.

“Hong Kong Airlines flight HX115, departing from Hangzhou to Hong Kong today, diverted and landed safely in Fuzhou Changle International Airport due to a fire in the overhead compartment, which was successfully extinguished,” the airline said.

According to flight tracking website flightradar24, the Airbus A320 aircraft took off from Hangzhou at 12.20pm, with the airliner arriving in Fuzhou at 2.01pm.

The airline said it was arranging for passengers to be flown back to Hong Kong on a replacement aircraft, which was expected to arrive at Fuzhou at 8.55pm.

It did not reveal the cause of the fire.

A number of passengers posted comments on social media about the fire, with some saying it was caused by a power bank.