Preliminary investigation into the Air Busan Airbus A321 fire at Gimhae has not found evidence of dangerous items brought on board the twinjet, and no immediate indication that the blaze was terrorism-related.
But the Korean transport ministry, which carried out an initial joint anti-terrorism probe with relevant agencies on 29 January, says it will conduct further inquiries if accident investigators discover anything suspicious.
The ministry says the fuselage of the A321 was destroyed in the 28 January fire, although the wings and engines were not damaged.
All 169 passengers, plus the six crew members and a mechanic escaped the fire. One of the passengers remains hospitalised, and another 10 are being accommodated in a hotel.
Air Busan has organised a special flight to transport passengers to Hong Kong, the original destination of the jet which had been preparing for departure before the accident.
Transport minister Park Sang-woo has ordered a “swift assessment” on the extent of damage and the rescue operation.
He acknowledges that the accident occurred just a month after the fatal Jeju Air crash in Muan.
“I will do my best to prevent recurrence through a thorough investigation into the cause, as well as provide support and compensation to the victims,” he states.
No confirmation has emerged over the cause of the fire, which appeared initially to affect the aft fuselage and prompted the evacuation of passengers through the emergency slides.
The ministry says the fire occurred at 22:15, about 20min after the scheduled departure time.
Air Busan has apologised to its customers for the “inconvenience” and states that its emergency response team is contacting affected passengers.
