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TOKYO: Five people were killed when a Japan Airlines aircraft hit a coastguard plane as it came into land on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday, erupting in a ball of flames.
Dramatic video footage shows the moment the plane was coming into land and struck the coastguard aircraft that was carrying relief aid for victims of yesterday's earthquake, at about 5:55 p.m. local time.
Japan Airlines flight 516, an Airbus A350, was arriving from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, according to NHK.
Miraculously, all 367 passengers and 12 crew were evacuated from the passenger jet.
The crash comes just a day after a massive earthquake ripped through Ishakawa, Japan.
Footage shared on social media showed passengers shouting inside the smoke-filled cabin.
Only one person has been accounted for from the coastguard aircraft that was carrying aid to parts of the country hit by yesterday's earthquake.
Firefighters are tackling the blaze and it is believed all 400 passengers have been evacuated from the passenger jet.
Japanese news agency JNN said people who appear to be passengers could be seen escaping from the aircraft.
Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio instructed relevant agencies to coordinate to assess the damage swiftly and provide information to the public, according to his office.
Haneda has closed all runways following the incident, a spokesperson for the airport said.
- This story was originally published on Arab News Japan