Planes collide at airport in Japan, jetliner burns
Asia
By
VOA
| Jan 03, 2024
A Japanese passenger jet caught fire Tuesday night after it collided with a Japanese Coast Guard plane on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport. Five people on the Coast Guard plane were killed, authorities said.
The Japan Airlines Airbus A-350 jetliner had just arrived after flying from the country's northern Hokkaido island with 379 passengers and crew on board.
Video showed a burst of flames on one side of the plane as it rolled down the runway. The plane eventually became fully engulfed as it came to a stop, with flames shooting out windows and the fuselage as firefighters battled the inferno.
All of the passengers and crew managed to escape the burning plane before it was destroyed. Cellphone video taken by passengers showed fire underneath the wing, as well as passengers trying to evacuate as the cabin filled with smoke.
CNN reports 17 passengers on board the plane were injured after the plane landed, citing Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
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A Coast Guard spokesperson said the pilot of the other aircraft escaped the wreckage, but five crew members who were initially missing were later found dead.
The Coast Guard plane was reportedly on its way to the Japanese west coast to deliver emergency aid for the survivors of a deadly earthquake that struck Monday.
[Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters]