China Eastern Airlines downplayed a collision between two of its aircraft yesterday on the tarmac at Hongqiao International Airport.

This image clearly shows the damage caused to the China Eastern planes yesterday. — Xinhua

The incident happened about 12:10pm when the port wing of an Airbus 320 that was being towed from the apron ahead of take-off struck the starboard wing of an Airbus 321 that was taxiing toward its bridge, the airline said in a statement.

The outbound flight MU2154 was scheduled to depart to Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, whence the inbound flight MU2153 had left earlier in the day.

All of the passengers on the outbound flight were returned to the terminal and later boarded an alternative service, the airline said.

People scheduled to board the incoming flight, however, had to be transferred to Pudong International Airport.

An unnamed person waiting to board the incoming flight said: "It was only about 10 minutes before we were due to get on the plane that we were told we had to get on a bus and go to Pudong."

The airline did not say how many people were affected, or how long they were delayed. It said only that it had apologized to them and that no one had been injured in the "slight collision."

The two planes involved have a combined capacity of between 300 and 400 passengers.

The incident was captured by a surveillance camera at the airport, while photographs taken by a passenger aboard the outbound flight showed significant damage to the planes' wings, with one of them almost completely severed.

A man surnamed Fu who was aboard flight MU2154 said he felt the aircraft shudder and knew immediately that it had hit something.

"About 20 minutes after the crash, an announcement was made telling the passengers we had to get off," he said.

China Eastern offered no explanation for the collision, but said the Civil Aviation Administration of China is investigating the incident and will publicize its findings in due course.

In 2012, a China Eastern Airlines plane that was waiting to take off at Pudong Airport was struck by a Malaysia Airlines flight that was taxiing. No one was injured.

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