Passengers evacuated from an Air Busan plane that was engulfed in flames this week at a South Korean airport will have their checked baggage returned to them, after authorities on Friday deemed the jet safe for a full investigation.

South Korean officials are launching an investigation into the cause of the fire that engulfed an Air Busan passenger plane, with eyewitness accounts suggesting a power bank may have sparked the blaze.

Authorities will start a joint investigation into the Air Busan A321 that burst into flames at Busan Gimhae International Airport, Yonhap News Agency reports.

Concerns have been raised about the safety risk of bringing portable batteries in carry-on luggage for flights, as a lithium-ion battery is suspected as the cause of the fire that

BUSAN, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- Authorities decided to begin a joint investigation of a fire-destroyed Air Busan plane early next week, officials said Friday, after completing safety checks on a large amount of fuel that is still stored at the wings of the plane.

The fire broke out in the back of the cabin, officials said. All 176 people on board, including passengers and crew members, were evacuated, some with minor injuries.

This comes a month after the Jeju Air plane crash on Dec. 29, 2024, that killed 179 passengers and crew members. It was the worst domestic civil aviation disaster in South Korea's history. The Jeju Air flight, which was returning from Bangkok, Thailand, veered off the runway and collided with a fence.

Shares of Air Busan dropped on Friday, after a plane belonging to the budget carrier caught fire earlier this week. Air Busan shares traded down 3.8% as of 0018 GMT, after falling as much as 6.1% to 2,

The authorities decided to proceed with the joint investigation to determine the cause of the recent blaze aboard an Air Busan without first removing the aviation fuel, the Transport Ministry announced Friday.