A passenger plane caught fire on the runway of Tokyo Haneda Airport. While the first images from the scene appeared on social media, Japanese broadcaster NHK announced that two planes collided on the runway and all 367 passengers on board were evacuated.
Japan, which was shaken by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake yesterday, is experiencing the shock of the news coming from Tokyo today.
A Japan Airlines plane burst into flames on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER PLANE ON THE RUNWAY
The international news agency AFP reported that the Airbus collided with a coast guard plane on the runway.
The British broadcaster BBC stated that Japan Airlines flight JAL 516, which landed on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, took off from Hokkaido, collided with another plane on the runway and there were passengers on board.
ALL 367 PASSENGERS EVACUATED
Japanese broadcaster NHK announced that all of the approximately 367 passengers on board the passenger plane that caught fire on the runway were evacuated.
Approximately 367 passengers and 12 crew members were on board, which means a total of 379 people were evacuated.
It is not yet known if anyone was injured in the incident. Footage broadcast by public broadcaster NHK showed firefighters battling the blaze.
PASSENGERS ESCAPE FROM EMERGENCY SLIDES
CNN International reported that the passenger plane burst into flames as soon as it took off, with passengers fleeing using the plane’s emergency slides.
According to the statement made by the Japanese Coast Guard, 5 of the 6 people on board the coast guard plane could not be reached, while the pilot survived.
Local media reported that first the wing area and then the entire plane was engulfed in flames, while a spokesman for Haneda Airport said that all runways at the airport are currently closed.
The coast guard plane was reportedly carrying aid for the earthquake zone to the base at Nigata Airport.
THERE HADN’T BEEN A SERIOUS PLANE CRASH IN A LONG TIME
Japan has not had a serious commercial aviation accident for a long time. The worst accident in the country was in 1985, when a passenger plane flying from Tokyo to Osaka crashed in Gunma Prefecture, killing 520 passengers and crew, making it one of the world’s deadliest plane crashes.
In Japan, the prime minister’s office announced the establishment of a crisis management center to coordinate the response to the crash. Authorities will investigate how the two planes were on the runway at the same time.
