Plane passengers ran to safety after a power bank caught fire in an airport jet bridge.
A video of the incident obtained by PEOPLE, showed frightened passengers fleeing as smoke filled the passageway at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Sunday, Oct. 20.
In the footage, other travelers viewed the smoke on the bridge from behind clear doors as an airport crew member could be seen communicating the issue on a walkie-talkie.
The clip also shows what appears to be where the fire originated — one of the passenger’s backpacks, which emitted thick smoke. According to the Associated Press, the power bank had been inside the backpack when it caught fire.
One traveler told AP she witnessed the passenger’s backpack smoking and alerted others to the issue.
“I told the man next to me that [the passenger] must have a lithium battery in his bag, and if it was about to catch fire, he should hurry up and get a fire extinguisher,” she recalled.
The fire on the bridge was extinguished and the area was ventilated. No one was injured in the incident, according to local media reports and AP.
Due to fire-related incidents from the battery packs, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) states that power banks with a rated energy of more than 160Wh were prohibited, AP reported.
The equivalent U.S. organization, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), also notes on its website that lithium batteries with 100 watt hours or less are allowed in carry-on bags, but lithium batteries with more power are allowed only with special instructions.
In a similar incident last year, four people were hospitalized after an external battery caught fire on a United Airlines flight to New Jersey. A power bank also caught fire on an Air Asia flight in Thailand earlier this year, according to the New York Post.
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There were a total of 78 lithium battery incidents involving smoke, fire or extreme heat last year and 55 incidents as of this year, according to the FAA’s website. The FAA also noted that between 2006 and 2024, there have been a total of 564 lithium battery air incidents, with the majority of incidents involving a battery pack or battery of some type.
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