Dramatic video captured the moment a plane’s cabin filled up with smoke, sending passengers into a panic after a portable battery charger exploded during a flight in Thailand.
AirAsia Flight FD188 was en route from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat on Sunday when the device exploded, sending choking smoke throughout the Airbus A320 about 30 minutes after takeoff, Viral Press reported.
Flight attendants rushed to extinguish the flames in row 15 while passengers scrambled to safety, the footage shows.
Sayan Srimai, who shot the clip, told the outlet that “the whole plane was in a state of chaos.”
“We had been sitting for about 30 minutes when suddenly there was a fire burning and smoke rising in the middle of the plane,” Srimai told Viral Press. “Passengers were extremely shocked. The crew were excellent and it only took them two minutes to put out the fire.”
In the video, passengers can be seen rushing away from the source of the flames and smoke – some clutching their kids and belongings.
The plane landed safely and no injuries were reported.
Technicians who boarded the plane found black burn marks on a seat.
They told passengers that a power bank that had been stored in the seat’s pouch exploded during the flight.
“The passenger who owned the power bank was with a large group, about seven or eight people. When it happened he stood up very quickly and he was not hurt,” Srimai said.
An AirAsia spokesman told Viral Press: “The trained flight attendants brought fire extinguishers to quickly deal with the fire caused by the power bank.”
Airlines only allow chargers to be packed in carry-on luggage, not in checked bags, due to the risk of lithium-ion batteries overheating and causing fires in the cargo hold.