A passenger plane has caught fire before takeoff at an airport in South Korea, but all 176 people on board have been safely evacuated.

An Air Busan flight awaiting departure to Hong Kong caught fire at Busan's Gimhae International Airport in southern South Korea. All 176 passengers and crew were evacuated before the flames destroyed the plane.

A month after the deadliest aviation disaster on South Korean soil, a fire destroyed another passenger jet in the country.

At 10.15pm on Jan 28, the Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321-200, bound for Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in Busan, caught fire at its tail before takeoff. According to testimony from passengers on board, a “crackling sound” could be heard from the overhead luggage compartment at the time, followed shortly by smoke.

All passengers were safely evacuated when fire ripped through an Air Busan Airbus with 176 on board in South Korea on Tuesday. Newsweek reached out to Airbus and Air Busan for comment via email on Wednesday.

An Air Busan Airbus A321 burst into flames at Busan Gimhae Airport (PUS) after the aircraft’s tail caught fire before takeoff, according to Yonhap News.

Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in Tuesday's airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said on Wednesday, with local media suggesting

An Air Busan plane caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in Busan in South Korea on Tuesday and all 169 passengers and seven crew members evacuated without casualties, Yonhap news agency reported,

This comes a month after the Jeju Air plane crash on Dec. 29, 2024, that killed 179 passengers and crew members. It was the worst domestic civil aviation disaster in South Korea's history. The Jeju Air flight, which was returning from Bangkok, Thailand, veered off the runway and collided with a fence.

An Air Busan plane caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday (January 28) while preparing for departure to Hong Kong. All 169 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated,

An Airbus plane belonging to South Korean carrier Air Busan caught fire on Tuesday at Gimhae International Airport in the country’s south while preparing for departure to Hong Kong, fire authorities said. All 169 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated, with three having minor injuries, fire authorities in Busan said.