Passenger describes panic in rush to evacuation chute in Pudong Int'l Airport

SHANGHAI - Nine people, including seven passengers and two crew members, suffered injuries during the evacuation of a Cathay Pacific Airways plane after smoke was seen in the cabin on Friday morning.

One passengers was reported to suffer serious injuries.

The two crew members, who suffered minor injuries, are Hong Kong citizens. They are to return to the SAR on Friday night.

The incident took place at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The control tower at the airport received a fire alarm at about 10:40 am. Smoke was detected coming from a lavatory of the plane. The jet was immediately evacuated, according to Lu Feng, a spokesman for the Shanghai Public Security Bureau.

Police inspected the cabin, but found no smoke. Six injured passengers were sent to Shanghai Pudong People's Hospital, said Lu.

"The flight CX365 was due to take off for Hong Kong at 9:45 am. We can confirm that all the 351 passengers and 19 crew have exited the Boeing 747-400 aircraft," said a statement released by the Cathay Pacific Airways.

A preliminary investigation found that the smoke had been caused by an equipment failure, according to Xinhua, quoting an official with the airport's frontier inspection department.

Statistics show the Cathay Pacific aircraft is a Boeing 747-467, which has been in service for more than 19 years.

The airline said an investigation is underway. Further details will be released later.

Huang Huang, a passenger who was on board the plane, told China Daily that he saw thick smoke and detected an acrid smell just when the plane was taxiing for takeoff.

"The plane was late and when it started to taxi along the runway, I saw some smoke in the fore-cabin. The odor smelt like burning plastic bags. Some passengers near the smoke began to shout and got out of their seats. Flight attendants were not yet aware of the situation and told the passengers to return to their seats.

"We were nervous and anxious. A middle-aged woman even passed out. Then the plane stopped and all emergency exits were open. One by one we started to jump out. The whole process was very fast, lasting for about 10 minutes," recalled Huang.

Some passengers were injured sliding down the board and ambulances arrived on the spot a few minutes after the incident.

Huang said that the evacuation chute was very steep and passengers were in a panic, pushing people in front of them.

"I was pushed by someone to the sliding board and knocked the stewardess that was meeting us on the ground," Huang said.

The passengers were taken to a room at the airport to await a new aircraft.

"The problem is that even when we change our flights, all the luggage are still in the plane. The policemen are checking the luggage and we cannot get them in a short time," said Huang.

According to Huang, Cathay promised to arrange flights before Friday night. Passenger luggage will be forwarded within two days. Huang was re-scheduled and expected to arrive in Hong Kong on Friday night.

A team of Cathay staff has already flown from Hong Kong to Pudong airport to assist passengers and cabin crew. Cathay said it is trying to make arrangements to fly the remaining passengers to their destination, including deploying larger planes and offering additional seats.

According to a doctor at Pudong New Area People's Hospital, all the minor injured have been discharged.

The seriously injured passenger has been transferred to another hospital.

Li Likui contributed to the story.

China Daily

(HK Edition 12/10/2011 page1)