DPRK plane makes forced landing in Northeast China city

A file picture dated September 11, 2014 shows an Air Koryo plane landing at Incheon International Airport, Seoul.[Photo/IC]

PYONGYANG - A flight of Air Koryo, the national flag carrier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), made a forced landing in Xiantao International Airport in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province on Friday after the plane caught fire.

A passenger said smoke appeared in the cabin about 30 minutes after takeoff from Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. The passengers were told that they should not panic and that the plane would temporarily land in Shenyang.

Later, oxygen masks dropped and several passengers began to have breathing difficulty because of the oxygen shortage in the cabin.

The flight en route from Pyongyang to Beijing made the landing safely in Shenyang at 8:50 am. No one on board was injured, according to the airport authority.

Chinese ground staff said that the plane had caught fire. Passengers held up in Shenyang can either choose to check out from the airport or wait for Air Koryo to send another plane to pick them.

Air Koryo operates mainly Russian TU-204 and AN-148 planes. The international destinations to which it flies regularly include Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang in China and the Russian port of Vladivostok.

The Pyongyang-Beijing service uses a Russian Tupolev Tu-204 - a twin-engine medium-range jet airliner that carries about 140 passengers.