A North Korean airliner was forced to make an emergency landing in northeastern China on Friday after a fire erupted onboard the aircraft.

A passenger on the plane told China's Xinhua News Agency that the Air Koryo flight travelling from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang to Beijing had to ground the aircraft in Shenyang, which is located in China's Liaoning Province, according to the South China Morning Post.

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At approximately 8.30 a.m., Air Koryo Flight 151 made contact with air traffic controllers at the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport to report the emission of smoke in the aircraft cabin.

"Later, oxygen masks dropped and several passengers began to have breathing difficulty because of the oxygen shortage in the cabin," according to Xinhua (via Reuters). The pilot diverted the plane and made the emergency landing 15 minutes later.

Sixty passengers and 15 crew members were on board the aircraft. No injuries have been reported in the incident but an investigation is being carried out to determine the source of the fire.

Air Koryo is the only airline that has a one-star rating on SKYTRAX, the internationally recognized commercial airline rating system. However, the carrier has an impressive safety record with only one fatal accident in more than three decades of service.

The state-owned airliner's fleet comprises of Russian-made TU-204 and AN-148 aircrafts and its international destinations include several Chinese and Russian cities. The airline also operates charter flights to airports in China, Pakistan and Kuwait. Kuwait.

Watch the video below for more details on the airline dubbed as the "world's worst airline."

TagsNorth Korea, Air Koryo, china, Air Koryo emergency landing, Shenyang, Pyongyang, Beijing