Tow tug at Changi Airport catches fire while towing Singapore Airlines plane

A tow tug caught fire as it was pulling a Singapore Airlines (SIA) Boeing 777-200 to a departure gate at Singapore Changi Airport at around 4am today (Nov 29).

Stomper Joe was driving past the airport when he saw the plane while Stomper Vivek saw the plane from aboard his Cathay Pacific flight going to Hong Kong at 8am.

"There was a black patch at the front of the plane and there were fire engines and several people surrounding it," he told Stomp in a phone interview.

An SIA spokesman told The Straits Times that there were no passengers on board the plane at the time.

It is understood that the plane was being moved from a remote parking bay to Terminal 3 for a flight.

It was crossing the bridge above Airport Boulevard Road when the tow tug caught fire.

A member of the towing crew, who was in the cockpit at the time, evacuated via an emergency slide.

The fire was put out by Airport Emergency Services.

No injuries were reported.

SIA said it is working closely with the authorities and the SIA Engineering Company to investigate the incident.