COLOMBO: Crew on a Sri Lankan Airlines plane carrying 202 passengers have extinguished a mid-flight fire triggered by a mobile phone battery in an overhead locker, the carrier said Monday. The airline said a "major" incident was averted by the quick-thinking attendants on the flight Sunday from Kochi in India to Colombo. The smoke came from an overhead bin, the airline added, thanking its crew for "averting a major incident". Crew suspected a lithium battery fire and put the luggage in water after failing to stop the smoke with a fire extinguisher, an airline statement said. "Upon investigation, the crew found a lithium battery pack and two mobile phones in the bag."

Source: The Star July 31, 2017 15:00 UTC