Tokyo, May 28 (IANS) A Korean Air passenger plane terminated take off from Tokyo's Haneda airport on Friday after its left engine caught fire, affecting the travel of some 70,000 people with over 400 flights cancelled as a result of the incident.
The Boeing 777-300, bound for Seoul from Tokyo, was reported to have caught fire at the left engine soon after it began its takeoff run down the runway, Xinhua news agency reported.
The 302 passengers and 17 crew members on board the plane were forced to evacuate.
The police said there were no immediate signs that terrorism was involved in the incident, while Korean Air said in a statement later that "efforts will be made as soon as possible to determine what caused the defect in the engine".
At least three flights scheduled to arrive at Haneda were redirected to nearby Narita airport, while over 407 flights were cancelled as the runways were closed for hours.
