Passenger plane skids off runway in E China

A plane with 74 passengers aboard slid off the runway during taxi while preparing to take off at an airport in east China's Zhejiang province, but no casualties were reported, said airport sources on Sunday.

The CA4538 flight operated by Air China, skidded off runway in the Yiwu Airport and the tires of the landing gear sank into a pitch-covered area, during its take-off preparation at around Sunday noon.

The plane was bound for the city of Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province.

Authorities immediately shut down the airport after the accident. More than 200 passengers have been transferred to the Xiaoshan Airport in the city of Hangzhou, the provincial capital.

The airport operator has arranged accommodation for more than 600 other stranded passengers.

As of 8:30 p.m. Sunday, the Yiwu airport remains closed due to the accident and the time for reopen is not yet decided, according to the airport.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.