Passengers and crew quickly bring fire under control
PUBLISHED : 24 Feb 2024 at 17:16
A power bank explosion triggered chaos on a flight from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat on Saturday morning, forcing passengers and crew to work together to extinguish a midair fire.
The incident was reported by an Amarin TV journalist, Pol Capt Sayan Srimai, who was among the passengers on Thai AirAsia flight FD3188.
About 30 minutes after departing from Don Mueang airport at 7.20am, passengers said they saw smoke and flames coming from the 15th row of the aircraft.
Despite the chaos and confusion, those aboard were able to come together and extinguish the blaze within two minutes.
The flight was able to continue and land safely at Nakhon Si Thammarat airport as scheduled with all 186 passengers on board.
An initial investigation found burn marks on the seats near the incident. Authorities believe an exploded power bank was the cause. The device belonged to a family of seven to eight people travelling for vacation. It had been stowed in the seat pocket when it suddenly ignited.