A Tibet Airlines plane caught fire after straying off the runway at a Chinese airport on Thursday, but the airline claimed all passengers and staff were “safely evacuated.”

The flight, which was carrying 113 passengers and nine crew members, was flying from Chongqing, China, to Nyingchi, Tibet, when “abnormalities” were discovered and take-off was halted, leading the plane to exceed the runway, according to the business.

Chinese state media broadcast images of flames devouring the side of the crippled plane as scared passengers fled the scene.

Photos from the scene showed scorch marks on the jet’s nose and one wing, which had been sprayed with water to put out the fire.

Tibet Airlines issued a statement saying, “All passengers and crew have been safely evacuated.”

“The injured passengers were all only lightly injured, and have been sent to hospital for treatment.”

Flight TV9833 strayed from the runway after takeoff, and “the left side of the aircraft’s nose caught fire,” according to a separate statement from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.

According to reports, at about 8:00 on May 12, a Tibet Airlines flight deviates from the runway and caught fire when it took off at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.#chongqing #airplane crash #fire pic.twitter.com/re3OeavOTA

— BST2022 (@baoshitie1) May 12, 2022

According to the airport, some 40 passengers were sent to the hospital with minor injuries.

The Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport has since resumed normal operations. The airport stated, “The cause of the accident is being investigated.”

In March, a China Eastern aircraft from Kunming to Guangzhou crashed into a mountainside from 29,000 feet, killing all 132 people on board.

There has been no explanation given for the catastrophe, which was China’s bloodiest in 30 years.

Two flight recorders, often known as “black boxes,” were found and are being studied in the United States in the hopes of solving the riddle surrounding the China Eastern jet’s quick plummet.

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