Tokyo: Passenger plane collides with Coast Guard aircraft; 5 dead
A Japan Airlines plane carrying nearly 400 people caught fire as it landed on a runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Tuesday evening (local time), BBC reported. The blaze erupted after the airline's Airbus A350 possibly collided with a Coast Guard aircraft. Five crew members on the latter were killed, while all passengers and crew members on the passenger plane were evacuated, per Reuters.
Watch: Dramatic visuals of plane on fire
Plane collided with Coast Guard aircraft: Report
According to NHK, the Japan Airlines plane likely collided with a Coast Guard aircraft during landing at the Haneda airport, resulting in flames. There were 367 passengers on board the plane. All of them have been evacuated safely, along with the 12 crew members, following the incident. NHK also reported that the plane (JAL 516) had taken off from Hokkaido.
Passengers seen jumping from emergency slider
Airline currently assessing extent of damage
The airline is currently assessing the extent of the damage, officials said, per NHK. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also asked officials to assess damage swiftly and provide information to the public, his office said in a statement. The plane departed from New Chitose Airport, Sapporo, Hokkaido, at 4:00pm (local time). It was scheduled to land at Haneda at 05:40pm.
5 Coast Guard crew members dead: Report
Meanwhile, the Japan Coast Guard said it was investigating the possibility of one of its aircraft colliding with the passenger jet. Five of the six crew members of the Coast Guard aircraft, initially reported to be "unaccounted for," were later found dead. The sixth crew member escaped, per NHK. The Haneda airport has shut all its runways following the incident, a spokesperson said.
Coast Guard aircraft on way to deliver earthquake aid
The Japan Coast Guard said that its aircraft, which reportedly collided with the passenger plane, was on its way to the Niigata Airport to deliver aid to the earthquake-hit Noto peninsula. To recall, Japan was hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on Monday, followed by nearly 155 smaller jolts. The quakes have claimed at least 48 lives so far.
Japan witnessed deadliest air accident in 1985
This Haneda incident comes nearly four decades after a deadly aviation accident in Japan. In 1985, the country saw its worst-ever aviation mishap when an Osaka-bound Japan Airlines jumbo jet from Tokyo crashed in the central Gunma region, killing 520 passengers and crew. It was also one of the world's deadliest plane crashes involving a single flight.
