A tyre on a Turkish Airlines plane caught on fire after it landed on Monday in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, authorities said, forcing the closure of the airport for an hour.
All 277 passengers and 11 crew on the Airbus A330 arriving from Istanbul were evacuated using the emergency exits after the fire, and no-one was injured, Gyanendra Bhul, a Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson, told Reuters.
“The fire broke out in the right rear tyre of the aircraft. The fire was doused and the plane was towed to the taxiway. It is grounded,” Bhul said.
Turkish Airlines said smoke was observed in the landing gear while taxiing, and technical inspections had been initiated.
“Initial assessments indicate the smoke was caused by a technical malfunction in a hydraulic pipe,” Yahya Ustun, the airline’s senior vice-president for communications, said on social media platform X.
He said an additional flight has been planned for the return of the passengers.
Reuters
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