Busan: A fire erupted inside a passenger plane at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, southeastern South Korea, on Tuesday evening, leading to seven people sustaining minor injuries during the evacuation process. The incident marks the second aviation-related fire in the country in less than a month.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the fire broke out in the tail section of an Air Busan Airbus A321-200 before it was set to depart for Hong Kong. The aircraft was on the runway at Gimhae International Airport, southeast of Seoul, when the fire ignited. All 169 passengers, along with six crew members and one maintenance worker, were evacuated via an emergency slide. Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze shortly before midnight.

The evacuation resulted in seven individuals suffering minor injuries, all of whom were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Among the passengers were 22 foreigners, including 18 Chinese nationals, two Americans, one Briton, and one Filipino.

In response to the incident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport swiftly established a team to investigate the cause of the fire. Seven officials have been dispatched to the scene as part of the investigation. The ministry's aviation technical information system revealed that the aircraft involved had been in service for over 17 years. Typically, aircraft over 20 years old are subject to more rigorous inspections by the ministry.

This fire follows another aviation disaster in South Korea late last month, when a different airliner caught fire after skidding off a runway and crashing into a concrete wall. That incident resulted in the deaths of 179 passengers, with only two survivors, making it one of the country's most severe aviation tragedies. Air Busan, however, has maintained a record free of accidents for the past 12 years until this recent event.