{"id":43109,"date":"2024-01-02T23:53:13","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T23:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/all-escape-fire-on-japan-airlines-plane-after-airport-collision-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2024-01-02T23:53:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T23:53:13","slug":"all-escape-fire-on-japan-airlines-plane-after-airport-collision-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/all-escape-fire-on-japan-airlines-plane-after-airport-collision-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"All escape fire on Japan Airlines plane after airport collision | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nTOKYO:
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All 379 passengers and crew of a Japan Airlines plane miraculously escaped from a fire following a collision with a Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, but five of the six crew of the coast guard plane were killed.<\/p>\n

The Coast Guard said the collision involved one of its planes that was headed to Niigata airport on Japan’s west coast to deliver aid to those caught up in a powerful earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day, killing at least 48 people.<\/p>\n

“I felt a boom like we had hit something and jerked upward the moment we landed,” a passenger on the Japan Airlines flight told Kyodo news agency. “I saw sparks outside the window and the cabin filled with gas and smoke.”<\/p>\n

Live footage on public broadcaster NHK showed the Japan Airlines (JAL) (9201.T) Airbus (AIR.PA) A350 aircraft bursting into flames as it skidded down the tarmac shortly before 6 p.m. (0900 GMT).<\/p>\n

It was later overwhelmed by the blaze despite feverish efforts by rescue crews to control the fire. But not before all 367 passengers and 12 crew were evacuated.<\/p>\n

Japan’s Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed that five of the coast guard aircraft’s crew had died. The captain of the plane escaped but was injured.<\/p>\n

NHK, citing the Tokyo Fire Department, said at least 17 of the people evacuated from the passenger plane were injured.<\/p>\n

Read also: US military aircraft crashes in Japan`s sea killing at least one<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A transport ministry official told a press briefing the JAL plane was attempting to land normally when it collided with the coast guard’s Bombardier-built Dash-8 maritime patrol plane on the runway.<\/p>\n

There had been no reports of engine or other problems on the aircraft before it landed, the official said.<\/p>\n

‘It was a miracle’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Footage and images shared on social media showed passengers shouting inside the smoke-filled cabin and running across the tarmac away from an evacuation slide.<\/p>\n

Video also showed passengers being evacuated calmly via escape slides, apparently without hand luggage.<\/p>\n

“The cabin crew must have done an excellent job. There don’t seem to be any carry-ons. It was a miracle that all the passengers got off,” said Paul Hayes, director of air safety at UK-based aviation consultancy Ascend by Cirium.<\/p>\n

Aviation safety agencies have warned for years that pausing to collect carry-on baggage during an evacuation risks lives.<\/p>\n

Kaoru Ishii, a mother who was waiting outside the arrival gate for her 29-year-old daughter and boyfriend coming back on the flight said she initially though the flight was delayed until her daughter called to explain.<\/p>\n

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Firefighters work on remnants of a Coast Guard aircraft at Haneda International Airport, in Tokyo, Japan January 2, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS<\/p>\n

“She said the plane had caught fire and she exited via a slide,” Ishii said. “I was really relieved that she was alright.”<\/p>\n

A spokesperson at Japan Airlines said its aircraft had departed from New Chitose airport on the northern island of Hokkaido.<\/p>\n

Runways reopening, cause of crash unclear<\/strong><\/p>\n

Haneda, one of the two main airports serving the Japanese capital, was closed for several hours following the accident, but the transport ministry official said three runways had since resumed operations.<\/p>\n

JAL’s rival Japanese airline ANA (9202.T) had earlier said it had cancelled 110 domestic flights departing and landing at Haneda for the rest of Tuesday due to the runway shutdown.<\/p>\n

Transport minister Saito said the cause of the accident was unclear and the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB), police and other departments would continue to investigate.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said authorities were working to ensure the accident at Haneda did not affect deliveries of earthquake relief supplies.<\/p>\n

“This is a great regret as the crew members performed their duties with a strong sense of mission and responsibility for the victims of the disaster area,” he said, referring to those killed on the coast guard plane.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n