Hong Kong Airlines flight makes emergency landing after cabin fire, possibly from power bank

A mid-air fire in the overhead compartments on a Hong Kong Airlines flight forced the plane into an emergency landing in China on March 20. None of the 168 passengers and crew on board were reported injured. Flight HX115, an Airbus SE A320 jet, took-off from Hangzhou, China, en route to Hong Kong just before 1pm and had to divert to Fuzhou after a fire broke out in an overhead compartment, the airline said in an e-mailed statement. The fire was extinguished. The airline did not specify the cause of the fire. However, social media videos circulating online showed a charred set of overhead compartments on the aircraft, pointing to a power bank fire. The risks associated with portable power banks have come into greater focus after an Air Busan plane caught fire in January, with a hand-held battery recharger the suspected cause of the blaze. South Korean authorities responded by ordering travellers to seal up ports on chargers or place them in separate plastic bags.<br/>