Five out of six crew members aboard a Japan Coast Guard plane have been confirmed dead following a fiery crash with a Japan Airlines (JAL) aircraft today (2 Jan).
The remaining member — the captain — managed to escape the blaze but sustained serious injuries.
Investigations into the unprecedented incident are ongoing.
NHK WORLD-JAPAN reported on the fatalities in a brief update on Tuesday (2 Jan) evening.
Citing the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, they said that five out of six Japan Coast Guard officials have died following a crash between their aircraft and a JAL aeroplane at Haneda Airport.
Meanwhile, the sixth member — the captain and pilot — escaped the blaze with severe injuries. His current condition is unclear.
NHK added that the Coast Guard members were on their way to Niigata to provide supplies for earthquake relief.
The prefecture was earlier hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on Monday (1 Jan) which left at least 13 people dead.
According to The Japan Times (JT), the Coast Guard plane was moving on the runway when it crashed with the JAL aircraft. The collision occurred shortly after the latter landed on runway C.
All 379 passengers and crew members aboard the JAL aircraft were safely evacuated.
Following the incident, all runways at Haneda Airport were closed and flights diverted to other airports across the country.
The incident is currently under investigation by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
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Featured image adapted from LOCAL 12, WKRC-TV on Facebook.
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