A China Airlines spokesman in Taipei said one person was killed, four flight attendants were seriously injured and about a dozen others suffered injuries.Fire engines and ambulances surrounded the Boeing MD-11 airliner on the runway at Chep Lap Kok airport as rescuers sought to evacuate the stricken plane in torrential rain and high winds caused by a weakening typhoon Sam.

First media reports indicated some 200 people had managed to leave the tri-jet wide-bodied aircraft, flight CI 642, which was on en route from Bangkok to Taipei.

Hong Kong cable television showed passengers being helped out of an ambulance and into wheelchairs and stretchers looking dazed.

The airline spokesman said the captain radioed Hong Kong control tower to report that a fire had broken out on board. He urgently sought permission to land,which was granted.

The multi-billion dollar airport at Chek Lap Kok, just off Hong Kong's Lantau Island, opened in July last year, replacing the cramped Kai Tak airport in Kowloon. In November 1993, a China Airlines Boeing 747 skidded off the end of the runway at Kai Tak.

Earlier on Sunday, the Hong Kong observatory had hoisted the no. 8 cyclone warning signal, which indicates winds with mean speeds of 63 to 117 km per hour were expected. Later in the afternoon, Sam had weakened to a severe tropical storm.