A fire broke out onboard China Southern Airlines Flight CZ3539 after a portable power bank kept in an overhead bin on the aircraft burst into flames.

The incident took place at the Guangzhou Airport in China on 25 February and forced the aircraft to delay its flight by three hours, reported scmp.com.

Passengers of the flight, which was en route to Shanghai, China, were forced to disembark and later put on another flight.

The fire was quickly extinguished by crew members and firefighters.

“Passengers of the flight, which was en route to Shanghai, China, were forced to disembark and later put on another flight.”

No injuries were reported in the incident, but the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft sustained minor cabin damage.

According to China Southern Airlines, a preliminary investigation has revealed that the fire was caused by a portable mobile phone charger, which was packed in a bag and stored in an overhead compartment.

The charger was not in use when it caught fire.

The passenger who owned the bag was reportedly asked to assist the police to help in further investigations.

A video of the incident posted on Chinese social media sites showed that a flight attendant and a passenger were trying to extinguish the fire with bottles of water and juice, reported ibtimes.co.uk.

In February 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organisation adopted a new aviation safety measure that prohibits all shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft on an interim basis, as they can pose fire risks.

The decision pertains only to batteries shipped as cargo on passenger aircraft, and not to those contained in personal electronic devices carried by passengers or crew.