A Japan Airlines plane caught fire after a collision with a smaller Coast Guard aircraft on the tarmac at Haneda airport in Tokyo. The news has become another tragedy for Japan in 2024 after the January 1 earthquake.
5 People Die During a Plane Crash in Japan
All 379 passengers and crew on board were evacuated, but five of the Coast Guard aircraft’s six crew members died, according to police. The captain was injured. The images showed the flames engulfing the passenger plane and the runway was also burning before the skeptical gaze of dozens of people. Fire crews extinguished the fire on the plane, which arrived from Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. Japan Airlines Flight 516 departed Sapporo New Chitose Airport at 4:00 p.m. local time and was scheduled to land in Haneda at 5:40 p.m.
Hours later, police in Tokyo confirmed reports that all five Coast Guard crew members had died and said the pilot was seriously injured. The Coast Guard said an investigation was underway to determine when contact between the two aircraft occurred.
Another Tragedy in Japan
The coast guard aircraft was on a mission to fly to a base in Niigata Prefecture carrying supplies to support the area affected by the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit central Japan on Monday. The coast guard aircraft was in motion on the runway when collided with the Japan Airlines plane. The Coast Guard said the captain, Genki Miyamoto, 39, notified the Coast Guard around 5:55 p.m. that the aircraft had “exploded” on the Haneda runway and that he managed to escape.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said it was “very regrettable” that the five Coast Guard members died in the accident, expressing his sincere condolences and mentioning that he has great respect for their strong sense of duty to help the victims. earthquake victims. The five crew members who died in the accident were Nobuyuki Tahara, 41; Yoshiki Ishida, 27 years old; Wataru Tatewaki, 39 years old; Makoto Uno, 47 years old; and Shigeaki Kato, 56 years old.
NHK footage showed flames billowing near the plane’s engines and firefighters battling the blaze. Although around 70 fire trucks were dispatched after the incident, which occurred at 5:47 p.m., the plane was almost completely engulfed in flames by 6:30 p.m., footage from Japan showed.
This story was written in Spanish by Miguel Fernandez in Cultura Colectiva News.
