KATHMANDU, ‌May 11 — A tyre of a Turkish Airlines plane caught fire after it landed today in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu, authorities said, forcing the closure of the airport for an hour.

All 277 passengers and 11 crew on the Airbus A330 arriving from Istanbul were evacuated using the emergency exits following the fire, and nobody was injured, Gyanendra Bhul, a Civil ‌Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson, 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... It is grounded,” Bhul said.

Turkish Airlines said smoke was observed in the landing gear while taxiing, and technical inspections had been initiated.

“Initial assessments indicate ⁠that the smoke was caused by a technical malfunction in a hydraulic pipe,” ⁠Yahya Ustun, the airline’s senior vice president, communications, ⁠said ⁠on social media platform X.

An additional flight has been planned for the return of ‌the passengers, he added. — Reuters