Panic at thousands of feet: Portable charger explodes on flight, injures passenger

A 60-year-old passenger suffered a burn to her hand after a portable charger (power bank) overheated, smoked, and exploded in her bag during an HK Express flight from Hong Kong to Jeju Island, South Korea. The crew prevented a fire by using a fire-resistant bag. The incident ended with no other casualties.

A 60-year-old passenger suffered a burn to her thumb after a portable charger (power bank) overheated, began smoking, and exploded in her bag during an HK Express flight from Hong Kong to Jeju Island, South Korea. The incident occurred shortly before landing, as the passenger tried to retrieve the charger from a bag stored under her seat. The flight crew acted quickly according to emergency procedures, placing the charger in a fire-resistant bag and submerging it in water, thus preventing a fire in the cabin, which held 236 passengers and seven crew members. The plane landed safely, and emergency services, including eight firefighters and two emergency vehicles, were waiting on the ground. Fire investigators boarded the plane for safety checks. The airline, a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, apologized for the incident. The article highlights international safety rules for flying with lithium batteries: they must be carried only in hand luggage, limited to two chargers at most, and absolutely prohibited from use or charging during the flight or storage in overhead bins.