Five killed In Japanese Aircraft Collision, Earthquake Deaths Hit 50

Five people aboard a Japan Coast Guard aircraft died on Tuesday when it hit a Japan Airlines passenger plane on the ground in a fiery collision at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

This was as Japanese rescuers battled on Tuesday to find survivors of a New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 50 people and caused widespread destruction, AFP reports.

All 379 passengers and crew on board the passenger plane that burst into flames were safely evacuated, Japanese transport minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters.

But five of the six crew members from the smaller plane – bound for central Japan after Monday’s huge earthquake – died, Saito said.

The captain escaped and survived but was injured, he said, “We’re not at the stage to explain the cause” of the accident.

All 367 passengers plus 12 crew onboard were swiftly taken off the plane before dozens of fire engines with flashing blue lights sprayed the fuselage.

They however failed to put out the flames coming out of windows near the wings and the blaze soon engulfed the entire aircraft.

The plane, reportedly an Airbus 350, had arrived from New Chitose Airport serving Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido. Those on board included eight children.

“Smoke began to fill the plane, and I thought, “This could be really bad,” an adult male passenger told reporters at the airport.

“An announcement said doors in the back and middle could not be opened. So everyone disembarked from the front,” he said.

AFP gathered a female passenger who said it was dark on board as the fire intensified after landing.

“It was getting hot inside the plane, and I thought, to be honest, I would not survive,” she said in comments shown on broadcaster NHK.