All passengers were evacuated but five of six crew on another plane, carrying aid to earthquake-hit west coast, have died.
Firefighters work at Tokyo’s Haneda airport after a Japan Airlines A350 aeroplane burst into flames [Issei Kato/Reuters]
Hundreds have been evacuated from a Japan Airlines plane after it burst into flames at Tokyo International Airport, also known as Haneda.
The plane was reportedly involved in a collision with another aircraft after landing on Tuesday, according to local news reports. NHK TV reported that all 379 passengers on board the Japan Airlines (JAL) plane got out safely.
Japan’s Coast Guard later confirmed that the collision involved one of its planes. It also said that five of the plane’s six crew members had died, according to the NHK news channel. The captain is understood to have survived.
A spokesperson for Haneda airport said all runways were currently closed.
Local TV video showed a large eruption of fire and smoke from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway. The area around the wing then caught fire.
Passengers were then shown leaving the aircraft via an emergency chute.
Later video showed fire crews working to put out the blaze with streams of water. The flames had spread to much of the plane.
An explosive fireball could then be seen with the aircraft badly damaged. There was initially no information about possible casualties.
A spokesperson at JAL said the aircraft originated from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido.
Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays.
Citing local news outlet Nippon TV, journalist Patrick Fok told Al Jazeera that the coastguard plane was carrying aid to Niigata, a city on the west coast, as part of rescue efforts following Monday’s devastating earthquake.
“This really has been a troubling two days and the start of the year for people in Japan,” he added.
Alex Macheras, an aviation analyst, said it was still “very early” in terms of trying to grasp what exactly happened.
“As is often the case with such incidents, what it appears [to be the case] in the first couple of minutes and hours, can be very different to what actually happened, and what we learn later in the investigation process,” he told Al Jazeera.
BREAKING: Japan Airlines plane with 367 people on board collides with Coast Guard plane at Tokyo Airport pic.twitter.com/ANheXFC2Ny
— BNO News (@BNONews) January 2, 2024
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
