All 167 passengers evacuated after phone catches fire on Jeju Air plane at Cheongju airport

All 167 passengers aboard a Jeju Air flight at Cheongju International Airport in North Chungcheong Province were evacuated Saturday after a passenger's mobile phone caught fire as the aircraft prepared to depart for Jeju Island.

The fire broke out at around 7:36 p.m. Saturday aboard the Jeju Air flight, which had been scheduled to depart Cheongju for Jeju Island. No injuries have been reported.

The fire is believed to have started in a mobile phone a seated passenger was holding before the aircraft began taxiing to the runway.

Nearby passengers smothered the device with clothing to contain the flames, while a crew member quickly placed the phone in a lithium battery fire-containment pouch, extinguishing it.

Although the fire was put out immediately, smoke spread through the cabin, prompting all 167 passengers to evacuate the aircraft.

Jeju Air said it was working to clear the remaining smoke from the cabin and inspecting the aircraft to determine whether it could resume normal operations.