Over 40 Slightly Injured After Plane Veers Off Runway in China

Over 40 passengers sustained minor injuries after a plane veered off the runway during take-off and caught fire at an airport in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality at around 8 a.m. on Thursday.

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The Tibet Airlines Flight TV9833, which was scheduled to depart from Chongqing and fly to Nyingchi in Tibet, was carrying 113 passengers and nine crew members on board. The crew members aborted the take-off after discovering an anomaly in the Airbus A319 aircraft.

The plane caught fire on the left side of its nose after veering off the runway. All people aboard the plane were evacuated and the injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Currently, one runway of the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport has been closed and the other two are operational, according to the  Southwest Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. An investigation into the accident is under way.

Videos posted on social networks show the Airbus A319-100, which had been in service for nine and a half years, completely attached to the runway from the bottom, since the landing gear is not visible.

In statements to the local press, Tibet Airlines said it was waiting to receive more information about what happened and that "first level emergency plans" had been activated.

Another aviation accident occurred in the Asian country on March 21, when a China Eastern Boeing 737-800 crashed to the ground abruptly, killing all 132 occupants. This incident ended a string of almost 12 years without serious aviation accidents in China.