Passengers experienced tense moments on board a KLM flight today after a small fire erupted inside an overhead compartment for hand luggage . A spokesman for the Dutch airline said the cause of the fire is under investigation , but a passenger claims it was sparked by a lithium ion battery inside a traveller 's bag . Flight attendants used an on-board fire extinguisher to put out the blaze which occurred moments after the plane landed in Bangkok at 10:40am local time . A KLM spokesman said the fire was detected as the plane taxied to its gate at Bangkok 's international airport . The KLM spokesman said the Boeing 777 , carrying 321 passengers plus employees , was taxiing to its gate at Suvarnabhumi Bangkok International Airport after flying in from Amsterdam . He told MailOnline Travel : ‘ There was a short fire on board in one of the overhead luggage compartments for hand luggage and our crew made sure that the fire was put out . ‘ After that all passengers and crew left the plane safely. ’ The spokesman said he is unable to comment on the possibility that the fire involved a lithium ion battery , as the investigation hasn ’ t reached a conclusion . The KLM crew is being hailed for extinguishing the fire and preventing injury to passengers and employees . One of the plane 's passengers tweeted a video which showed a crew member extinguishing the fire . One of the passengers on flight KL875 recorded video as a flight attendant used a fire extinguisher to spray a smouldering bag as it sat on a seat in business class . A photo snapped moments earlier shows the crew spraying the bag while it was on fire in the overhead luggage bin . The passenger posted the video and photo on her Twitter account , @ Accone , and wrote : ‘ Well done @ KLM for calm management of cabin fire on flight KL875 caused by a battery in a passenger ’ s carry-on luggage ’ . She added in a second tweet : ‘ Take Lithium ion batteries in carry on ! One caused a fire on our flight . It was immediately detected & extinguished ; difficult in cargo. ’ KLM said it is unable to comment on claims that the fire was sparked by a passenger 's lithium ion battery . The KLM crew is being hailed for extinguishing the fire and preventing injury to passengers and employees . The spokesman for the Dutch airline said the plane will be inspected and any necessary repairs will be completed before it returns to service . KLM ’ s policy on lithium ion batteries mirrors that of other carriers around the world . Loose lithium ion batteries may only be carried in hand baggage , and each spare battery must be stored in the original packaging , or the battery contact points must be covered with tape to insulate them and packed in separate plastic bags . It permits the transport of object that are powered by lithium batteries , including mobile phones , laptop computers and tablet computers . Last week Boeing and other aircraft makers urged a ban on bulk lithium battery shipments on passenger planes , saying the threat of fires is ‘ an unacceptable risk ’ . An industry group warned that current fire suppression systems on planes can not extinguish a blaze involving bulk shipments of lithium ion or lithium metal batteries .
A spokesman for KLM said the cause of the fire is under investigation . 321 of the passengers claimed it was caused by a lithium ion battery . Small fire was detected as the plane taxied to its gate at a Bangkok airport . KLM said there were no injuries and everyone disembarked safely .