Society

8 injured in emergency landing at HK airport

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-13 23:36

HONG KONG - Eight passengers were injured on a Cathay Pacific plane from Indonesia at the Hong Kong International Airport Tuesday afternoon, when tires deflated and caught a fire during an emergency landing, local authorities said.

8 injured in emergency landing at HK airport

A Cathay Pacific airbus lies on the tarmac after an emergency landing in Hong Kong April 13, 2010. [Agencies]

The Cathay Pacific A330 aircraft, flight CX 780, arriving from Surabaya, Indonesia, made an emergency landing at the Hong Kong International Airport at about 13:45 local time (0545 GMT) on Tuesday due to a suspected engine problem.

An emergency evacuation of passengers was initiated after the aircraft landed on the north runway of the airport, with six aircraft tires blown out after the landing.

Out of altogether 309 passengers and 13 crew members on board, four male and four female passengers were injured during the evacuation and were sent to hospital for medical treatment. Two were sent to Yan Chai Hospital and have been discharged, while six remained in Princess Margaret Hospital.

The Civil Aviation Department has formed a team to investigate the emergency landing, and investigators are collecting data and will conduct interviews with passengers and crew, said Director of Civil Aviation Norman Lo at a joint press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

A preliminary report will be submitted in a month, he said.

All four tires on the left of the aircraft and two on the right deflated, and they were designed to deflate in emergency situations to prevent them from bursting, Cathay Pacific Airways' Chief Executive Tony Tyler said.

The incident closed the north runway for two and a half hours when a total of 125 flights operated from the south runway for landing and take-off and only 35 flights suffered minor delays.