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TOKYO: Five people aboard a Japan Coast Guard aircraft died Tuesday when it hit a Japan Airlines passenger plane on the ground in a fiery collision at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
All 379 passengers and crew on board the passenger plane which burst into flames were safely evacuated, Japanese transport minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters.
The captain escaped and survived but was injured, he said, cautioning that “we’re not at the stage to explain the cause” of the accident.
Television and unverified footage shared on social media showed the Japan Airlines (JAL) airliner moving along the runway before a large eruption of orange flames and black smoke burst from beneath and behind it.
A video posted to social media platform X showed people sliding down an inflatable emergency slide from the side of the passenger plane while flames shot out from the rear of the aircraft.
All 367 passengers plus 12 crew onboard were swiftly taken off the plane before dozens of fire engines with flashing blue lights sprayed the fuselage.
They however failed to put out the flames coming out of windows near the wings and the blaze soon engulfed the entire aircraft.
The plane, reportedly an Airbus 350, had arrived from New Chitose Airport serving Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido. Those on board included eight children.
“Smoke began to fill the plane, and I thought, ‘this could be really bad’”, an adult male passenger told reporters at the airport.
“An announcement said doors in the back and middle could not be opened. So everyone disembarked from the front,“ he said.
A female passenger said it had been dark on board as the fire intensified after landing.
“It was getting hot inside the plane, and I thought, to be honest, I would not survive,“ she said in comments shown on broadcaster NHK.
- ‘Sense of mission’ -
The coast guard plane had been preparing to fly to Ishikawa prefecture to deliver supplies after the devastating New Year’s Day earthquake which killed at least 48 people.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida praised the deceased crew members on their way to help the victims of the quake.
“These were employees who had a high sense of mission and responsibility for the affected areas. It’s very regrettable,“ he told reporters.
“I express my respect and gratitude to their sense of mission,“ Kishida said.
JAL said the passenger plane either collided with the other aircraft on a runway or a taxiway after it touched down, Kyodo reported.
There was also burning debris on the runway at Haneda, one of the world’s busiest airports.
Haneda suspended domestic flights, according to its website, but most international takeoffs and landings were still operating.
A transport ministry official said investigations into the incident were ongoing, including exchanges between the flights and air traffic control.
Japan has not suffered a serious commercial aviation accident in decades.
Its worst ever was in 1985, when a JAL jumbo jet flying from Tokyo to Osaka crashed in the central Gunma region, killing 520 passengers and crew.
That disaster was one of the world’s deadliest plane crashes involving a single flight.
Source: AFP
日本東京羽田機場客機相撞事故造成五人死亡
東京:週二,日本海岸防衛隊的一架飛機在東京羽田機場與地面上的日本航空客機發生激烈碰撞,造成機上五人死亡。
日本國土交通大臣齊藤哲夫告訴記者,起火客機上的 379 名乘客和機組人員已全部安全疏散。
他說,船長逃脫並倖存下來,但受傷了,並警告說「我們現在還沒有到解釋事故原因的階段」。
電視和社群媒體上分享的未經證實的影片顯示,這架日本航空(JAL)客機沿著跑道移動,然後從其下方和後面噴出大量橙色火焰和黑煙。
社群媒體平台X上發布的一段影片顯示,人們從客機側面滑下充氣緊急滑梯,同時火焰從飛機後部噴出。
機上所有 367 名乘客和 12 名機組人員迅速被帶下飛機,隨後數十輛閃爍藍光的消防車向機身噴射。
然而,他們未能撲滅從機翼附近窗戶噴出的火焰,大火很快吞噬了整架飛機。
據報道,這架飛機是一架空中巴士 350,從新千歲機場抵達,服務北海道北部島嶼的札幌。 機上人員包括八名兒童。
“煙霧開始充滿飛機,我想,’這可能真的很糟糕’”,一名成年男性乘客在機場告訴記者。
「公告說後面和中間的門打不開。 所以每個人都從前線下車,」他說。
一名女乘客表示,著陸後火勢加劇,機上一片漆黑。
「飛機內越來越熱,說實話,我想我活不下去了,」她在 NHK 播出的評論中說道。
-‘使命感’-
元旦發生造成至少 48 人死亡的毀滅性地震後,這架海岸防衛隊飛機正準備飛往石川縣運送物資。
日本首相岸田文雄對前往幫助地震災民的罹難船員表示讚揚。
「這些員工對受影響地區具有高度的使命感和責任感。 這非常令人遺憾,」他告訴記者。
「我對他們的使命感表示敬意和感謝,」岸田說。
根據共同社報道,日航表示,這架客機降落後在跑道或滑行道上與其他飛機相撞。
世界上最繁忙的機場之一羽田機場的跑道上也有燃燒的碎片。
據其網站稱,羽田機場暫停了國內航班,但大多數國際航班仍在運營。
交通部一名官員表示,對此事件的調查正在進行中,包括航班和空中交通管制之間的交流。
日本幾十年來沒有發生過嚴重的商業航空事故。
最嚴重的一次是 1985 年,一架從東京飛往大阪的日航大型噴射機在群馬中部地區墜毀,造成 520 名乘客和機組人員死亡。
那場災難是世界上單次飛行中最致命的空難之一。
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