Eleven passengers were left injured during an evacuation after a Cathay Pacific aircraft aborted its takeoff at Hong Kong International Airport early Saturday. As per a report on AP, the Los Angeles bound flight with 310 onboard aborted the takeoff due to a "technical issue" forcing passengers for a precautionary evacuation from the Boeing 777-367 (ER) plane. Five escape slides were deployed for passengers to make a quick exit from the plane.


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However, 11 passengers were injured while evacuating the aircraft, the airline said. The Los Angeles-bound Flight CX880, returned to the gate of the Hong Kong International Airport after a “technical issue”. Cathay Pacific gave no details on the problem.



However, public broadcaster RTHK reported that one of the plane’s tyres had overheated while taking off, causing it to burst, citing police. The flight was carrying 293 passengers and 17 crew members.


“We understand that 11 passengers are being treated at the hospital with injuries sustained during the evacuation process,” Cathay Pacific said. “Our priority is to look after all affected passengers and crew.”


By 10:30 a.m., nine of the injured passengers had been discharged from the hospital, the airline said later. Using a different aircraft, the flight departed for Los Angeles at 10:12 a.m., carrying 283 passengers, it said.