Alaska Airlines flight evacuated after landing due to sparking cellphone onboard
At first, officials thought the phone had caught fire
A passenger's cellphone began sparking on an Alaska Airlines flight Monday, forcing passengers and crew members to evacuate shortly after landing at the Sea-Tac International Airport.
On Monday evening, officials responded to a report of a fire in the cargo hold of Flight 751, which was flying into Seattle from New Orleans.
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The Port of Seattle Fire Department arrived on the scene, and 129 passengers and six crew members were forced to evacuate.
At first, officials, including Alaska Airlines, thought the cellphone had caught fire "shortly after landing at Sea-Tac International Airport and while waiting for a gate."
However, Alaska Airlines later clarified that the phone had just "overheated and began sparking," according to the airline's updated statement.
"The crew acted swiftly using fire extinguishers and a battery containment bag to stop the phone from smoking," an Alaska Airlines spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement.
The fire-containment bags were deployed to Alaska's fleet in 2016 "to reduce the danger of mid-flight lithium-ion battery fires."
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During the incident, crew members also "deployed the evacuation slides due to hazy conditions inside the cabin," the airline said.
Two people were treated at a local area hospital, according to the airline, which didn't detail their conditions.
The plane was eventually towed to a gate and didn't impact airport operations, the airport tweeted.