China Airlines plane engulfed in flames

Article from: Reuters

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August 20, 2007 = 02:30pm

A PLANE belonging = to Taiwan's=20 China Airlines caught fire soon after landing on Japan's southern island = of=20 Okinawa today.

The Boeing 737-800 plane, which had just arrived from Taipei, was = already=20 being evacuated when the left engine exploded, ripping the plane apart,=20 officials and witnesses said.

"I saw several passengers evacuate = from=20 the plane using a chute. After a minute or so, I heard the sound of an=20 explosion. It was a big explosion," said Tadahiro Hasuo, who told NHK he = felt=20 the heat of the blast while passing the airport in a taxi.

The = charred=20 remains of the plane lay broken on the tarmac near the terminal after = the flames=20 were extinguished, an hour after the explosion.

The nose of the = plane=20 sagged on its side, while the tail - emblazoned with the airline's pink = plum=20 blossom symbol - was intact at the other end.

In between, the = blackened=20 remains of the interior could be seen, with much of the roof of the = plane gone.=20

Early investigations raised the possibility that leaking fuel = may have=20 caught fire.

"We don't have any information that suggests the = accident=20 was linked to terrorism. There is a possibility of the engine exploding = and=20 catching fire due to a fuel leak," a Naha airport police official said.=20

One member of the ground crew had been injured, Kyodo news = agency=20 reported.

The airline said the plane, which had 157 passengers = and eight=20 crew, had just undergone scheduled maintenance.

"Everything was = working=20 according to normal procedure. There was nothing wrong during the = flight," China=20 Airlines spokesman Johnson Sun said.

China Airlines has a = troubled=20 safety record with four deadly accidents in the past 13 years, including = a crash=20 in the Japanese city of Nagoya in 1994 in which 264 people were killed.=20

Okinawa is a popular spot for beach holidays and the number of = visitors=20 to Japan from other parts of Asia has increased in recent years, with = the=20 lifting of visa restrictions.

- Additional reporting by = Isabel=20 Reynolds and Leika Kihara in Tokyo and Ralph Jennings in Taipei=20

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The China Airlines 737-800 burns after an = explosion iat=20 Naha on Japan's southern island of Okinawa. Picture: Reuters=20

Pictures:=20 Planes explodes in Japan=20

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