Aircraft forced to land after false alarm

A China Southern Airlines aircraft was diverted to land in central China tonight after its fire alarm in the cargo hold was triggered on Monday night.

Flight CZ6406 from Nanjing in neighboring Jiangsu Province to Guilin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region had to land in Changsha in central Hunan Province at 9:56pm.

One passenger was hurt when evacuating from the emergency slide, while the other 150 passengers were “safe,” the Guangzhou-based airline said.

The crew found the alarm light for the cargo hold was turned on after the aircraft took off from Nanjing Lukou International Airport at 7:50pm, the airline said. The crew then carried out the emergency evacuation according to rules, the carrier said.

No flame was found in the hold after the landing, and the cause of the incident is still under investigation, it said in a statement.

The airline said it will send another aircraft to fly the passengers to their destination.

According to a video footage taken by a witness on the tarmac, passengers were screaming during the evacuation.