A commercial airplane, carrying passengers, was engulfed in flames on a runway at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Tuesday, after colliding mid-air with a Coast Guard plane carrying six people, five of whom are reported killed, according to CNN. One escaped, according to NHK, Japan's public broadcaster.
The flight, Japan Airlines 516, had departed from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, according to NHK, and was scheduled to land in Haned at 5:40 pm.
The Coast Guard plane was delivering supplies following the deadly earthquake that struck the country on Monday.
Scary stuff. Japan Airlines A350 bursts into flames on landing at Haneda Airport, collides with a Coast Guard plane. All 379 passengers reported safe! pic.twitter.com/p3CNhjlLIL
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) January 2, 2024
All 379 passengers and crew on board the Japan Airlines flight were evacuated, the airline said. It is unclear whether anyone was injured.
"We are currently assessing the extent of the damage," the airline said, according to an NHK report. At about 11:40 Israel time, the plane snapped in half.
Comes after deadly earthquake, tsunami
The incident comes in the wake of a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on New Year's Day. The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6, triggered waves of around a meter along parts of the Sea of Japan coast, with a larger wave expected, public broadcaster NHK reported.