A tow tug caught fire as it was pulling a Singapore Airlines (SIA) Boeing 777-200 to a departure gate at Changi Airport at around 4am yesterday.

There were no passengers on board the aircraft at the time, SIA's spokesman told The Straits Times.

The Straits Times understands that the plane was being moved from a remote parking bay to Terminal 3 for a flight.

It was crossing the bridge above Airport Boulevard Road when the tow tug caught fire.

A member of the towing crew, who was in the cockpit at the time, evacuated via an emergency slide.

There were no injuries and the fire was put out by Airport Emergency Services, said the spokesman.

The aircraft was originally scheduled to operate for Flight SQ890 to Hong Kong.

Following a change of aircraft, the flight departed at 7.48am, after a delay of 13 minutes.

SIA said it was working closely with the authorities as well as SIA Engineering Company to investigate the incident.

A video and photographs obtained by The Straits Times showed a blackened patch near the nose of the plane on the right side.

Karamjit Kaur