A tyre on a Turkish Airlines jet caught fire while landing at Nepal's main airport on Monday, causing no reported injuries but forcing the airport to shut down.

The flight from Istanbul landed at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport with fire and smoke on the right landing gear.

Emergency crew responded and controlled the fire.

All ⁠277 passengers and ⁠11 crew on the Airbus A330 arriving from ⁠Istanbul were evacuated from the plane using the emergency exits, 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.

The airport was shut down on Monday morning.

Several flights bound for Kathmandu were put on hold while officials were investigating and attempting to clear the only runway available at the airport.

Nepal experiences relatively frequent plane crashes as its mountainous terrain and variable weather make flying conditions difficult.

In 2015, a Turkish Airlines jet landing in dense fog in Kathmandu skidded off a slippery runway shutting down the airport for several days.

No injuries were reported, and the plane was later towed out of the airport and converted into a museum. (AP/Reuters)


Edited by Tony Sabine