Tibet Airlines plane in flames, 36 injured

Fire sent black smoke billowing storeys high after a plane of Tibet Airlines carrying 122 people veered off a runway in southwestern China as it tried to take off on Thursday morning.

The airline said all passengers and crew had been evacuated from an Airbus A319 plane.

There were no deaths and only minor injuries among the 113 passengers and nine crew members on board, the airline said in a statement.

Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said 36 people suffered bruises and sprains during the evacuation of flight and were sent to local hospitals for examination.

The pilots had interrupted the takeoff in line with procedures after experiencing an abnormality, CAAC said in a statement, leading to an engine scrape and fire after the plane veered off the runway.

The incident came less than two months after the deadly crash of a China Eastern Airlines plane led CAAC to launch a safety drive.