Airplane engine catches fire in Italy, forcing passengers to evacuate to runway

ATHENS

The engine of a passenger plane caught fire in southern Italy, forcing its passengers to evacuate onto the airport runway, local media reported Thursday.

The incident took place when a Ryanair plane bound for Turin was on the runway at Puglia Airport for takeoff, said the state-run ANSA news agency, adding that the 184 passengers and crew members had to be evacuated down the emergency slides.

Fortunately, nobody was injured, said the agency.

It added that Bergamo's Oro al Serio International Airport in the northern city of Bergamo had to be shut down two days ago when the tires of another flight of the discount airline landing from Barcelona burst, damaging the runway.​​​​​​​