5 Dead, 379 People Evacuated After Japan Airlines Passenger Plane Bursts into Flames on Tokyo Runway
The incident happened when JAL flight 516 struck a smaller Japan Coast Guard plane on the runway
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Japan Airlines plane on fire on a runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2, 2024Five people are reported dead after a Japan Airlines (JAL) plane collided with a smaller aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday.
The incident happened after JAL flight 516 struck a Japan Coast Guard plane carrying resources for Japan’s earthquake relief efforts, according to multiple outlets including CNN and BBC. All 379 crew members and passengers onboard the JAL flight were safely evacuated after the aircraft began to burn at 5:47 p.m. local time (3:47 a.m. ET), added multiple outlets.
Despite this, five out of six people onboard the Coast Guard plane died in the accident, according to public broadcaster NHK, per Reuters. The pilot was severely injured and is now being treated in a Tokyo hospital, reported the BBC.
A representative from JAL told CNN that the details of the incident are currently being investigated. The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) also told the outlet that the Coast Guard plane was headed to a JCG airbase in Niigata prefecture to assist with relief efforts after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake took place in Ishikawa on Monday.
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Japan Airlines plane on a runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2, 2024Related: Aviation YouTuber, 45, and Dad, 78, Die After Their Plane Crashes in Tennessee
According to the BBC, the aircraft was one of four planes headed to the site.
In footage shared on social media, flames engulfed the JAL aircraft as passengers ran for safety.
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"I felt a boom like we had hit something and jerked upward the moment we landed," a passenger on the JAL flight told Kyodo news agency, per Reuters. "I saw sparks outside the window and the cabin filled with gas and smoke."
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Japan Airlines plane and a coast guard aircraft on a runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2, 2024Related: 2 Passengers Survive Small Plane Crash That Ended in Fiery Blaze on North Carolina Highway
“I was riding. It's safe. Good 😭 #Haneda,” another passenger, who was on the Japan Airlines plane, wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter.)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office also issued instructions to authorities in their investigation of the incident.
“Act in close coordination amongst responsible government agencies and organizations in sparing no effort to save lives and rescue victims,” the first instruction read, while the second stated: “ Assess the state of affairs regarding damages as soon as possible, and provide timely and accurate information to the public.”
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