15 hurt as Taiwan flight aborted

Fifteen airline passengers were hurt Sunday when they used inflatable evacuation slides after their Taiwan to Macau flight was aborted due to smoke belching from an engine.

Fifteen airline passengers were hurt Sunday when they used inflatable evacuation slides after their Taiwan to Macau flight was aborted due to smoke belching from an engine.

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The MD90 aircraft belonging to Taiwan's EVA Airways flashed abnormal signals just before it was set to take off at the northern Taoyuan airport at 9:00 am (0100 GMT), the company said in a statement.

"Considering the safety of passengers, the captain decided to evacuate all of them immediately," the statement said, referring to smoke coming from one of the plane's engines.

Fifteen people were slightly injured when all the passengers exited the plane using two inflatable evacuation slides, according to the company.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, it said.