An Air China plane suffered serious damage after catching fire at the Beijing Capital International Airport Tuesday. No casualties were reported.

Video circulated on China’s internet Tuesday afternoon showed heavy smoke rising from an aircraft of the flagship carrier at the airport. Firefighters were rushing to the scene.

In a statement published on its official social media account, the airport authority confirmed that smoke came from the aircraft’s cargo compartment around 4 p.m. while the plane was preparing for departure. No passenger was on the plane, and the incident didn’t interrupt the airport’s operation, the Capital Airport said.

Air China said in a statement that the plane was scheduled to fly from Beijing to Tokyo. The smoke was detected during boarding. Passengers were successfully evacuated, and the fire was put out, Air China said, adding that an investigation was launched on the cause of the fire.

An aviation expert told Caixin that video showed the fire spread from the cargo unit to the cabin, indicating serious damage to the aircraft’s internal structure. It will probably be difficult to repair, the expert said.

Public information showed that the aircraft is an Airbus 330-300 with 301 seats. The plane was in operation for a little more than five years.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)