A minor fire broke out on a Turkish Airlines flight that landed in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu on Monday, authorities said, forcing the closure of the airport for an hour until it was brought under control.
All 277 passengers and 11 crew on the Airbus 333 arriving from Istanbul were evacuated safely following the fire in the right rear tyre of the aircraft, Gyanendra Bhul, spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, told Reuters.
"The fire broke out in the right rear tyre of the aircraft...the fire was doused and the plane was towed to the taxiway," Mr Bhul said. “It is grounded.”
Turkish Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several planes bound for Kathmandu were put on hold while officials were investigating and attempting to clear the only runway available at the airport.
Nepal experiences relatively frequent plane crashes as its mountainous terrain and variable weather make flying conditions difficult.
In 2015, a Turkish Airlines jet landing in dense fog in Kathmandu skidded off a slippery runway shutting down the airport for several days. No injuries were reported and the aircraft was later towed out of the airport and converted into a museum.