In the United States, a laptop caught fire on board an aircraft. Smoke-inhaled flight attendants were hospitalized.
According to CBS, on February 8, one of the passengers on a United Airlines plane flying from San Diego to Newark took a laptop on board. A few minutes after departure, the bag containing the gadget began to smoke. The man threw it to the floor, after which the other passengers panicked and ran to the tail of the plane to hide from the smoke.
The flight attendants rushed to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers and were able to localize it, but in the process, they inhaled smoke. Crew members managed to place the laptop in a fire bag to prevent the fire from spreading. It is not known what exactly caused the fire, but passengers were warned not to take any more equipment with lithium batteries on board the aircraft.
“We thank our crew for their prompt action to ensure the safety of all on board,” United Airlines said in a statement.
It is specified that the plane returned to the airport of departure 11 minutes later. “The plane landed safely at San Diego International Airport, where emergency crews arrived at the scene and assisted passengers,” the airport said in an interview with the Daily Mail.