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 while awaiting takeoff at Busan's Gimhae International Airport, with some eyewitness accounts leading to speculation that a portable power bank may have caused the blaze.

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.

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 destroyed Air Busan’s passenger plane on Tuesday night.

An Air Busan plane caught fire at Gimhae International Airport, Busan, South Korea, with 169 passengers and seven crew members on board, who were safely evacuated. The incident follows the recent deadly Jeju Air crash at Muan Airport,

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.

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.

A passenger plane has caught fire before takeoff at an airport in South Korea, but all 176 people on board have been safely evacuated

All 176 people were evacuated from an Air Busan jet that caught on fire at a South Korean airport, with reports suggesting a battery could be the cause.