NATION : Airliner Evacuated in Engine Fire

All 38 passengers on a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were evacuated after an auxiliary engine caught fire, a company spokesman said today.

There were no injuries reported while the passengers left the jetliner late Sunday by emergency slide, said spokesman Bob Gibbons for the airline.

The fire, which was put out immediately, began as the Philadelphia-bound plane began to taxi to the runway, Gibbons said.

The fire was confined to an auxiliary power unit, a small engine that provides electricity and conditioned air while the plane is on the ground, he said.