25 people were injured as a passenger plane caught fire as it skidded off the runway in China

A Tibet Air plane caught fire at the airport in southwest China’s Chongqing city, injuring 25 people, local media reported.

The Xinhua News Agency quoted sources as saying that the plane veered off the runway during take-off and caught fire around 0800 am (0000 GMT) on Thursday.

According to unconfirmed initial reports, 113 passengers were on board the Airbus A319. There were no initial reports of deaths.

In response to a question by the German News Agency (dpa), “Air Tibet” in Chongqing only said that an investigation had been opened into the accident.