Passengers panicked as an e-cigarette vape pen burst into flames in the overhead cabin of an easyJet flight, leaving two people with minor injuries. Passengers reported hearing a popping sound just after boarding the flight from Geneva.
Footage taken aboard the plane shows the overhead locker being opened, to reveal an orange glow and smoke inside. A passenger pulled out the flaming pen before 'debris' flew across the cabin of the Airbus A320.
Passengers tried to put out the flames with their hands before it was thrown to the floor and stamped on. Smoke began to fill part of the cabin, with passengers shouting in fear.
One passenger told Radio Television Switzerland [RTS] "It seemed like it lasts forever, when it was really only a few seconds and everything was extinguished very quickly. There was this smell that got stuck in our throats and we panicked, because 'we were stuck on a plane."
An easyJet spokesman said: "The incident will be the subject of a formal investigation, in accordance with the procedures".
The plane had to turn around a few minutes after take-off when the fire broke out. The flight's roughly 190 passengers were flown to their intended destination on the following day.
