A Korean Air plane caught fire before takeoff in Tokyo on Friday, but there were no reports of injuries, the foreign ministry here said.

According to Kyodo News and NHK, the fire occurred on the left wing of the Boeing 777-300 as it was set to leave Haneda Airport for Seoul. All 319 passengers and crew members were safely evacuated.

Seoul's foreign ministry confirmed it received no reports of injuries.

The Tokyo Fire Department said Korean Air reported the fire at 12:44 p.m. More than 100 firefighters and rescue workers helped extinguish the fire and evacuate the passengers.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said the plane's left engine apparently caught fire, and it was still trying to determine the exact cause.

Korean Air later clarified in a press release that a spark was detected in the No. 1 engine of the plane, when it was moving down the runway for takeoff. The airline company said that it is working to figure out the exact cause of the engine defect. It said a B747-400 jet will be sent to Japan to bring back the passengers.

The Japanese police said the fire didn't appear to have been caused by an act of terrorism. (Yonhap)