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A Japan Airlines airplane is engulfed in flames at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Jan 2.
TOKYO – Five people on board a coast guard aircraft died after a runway collision with a Japan Airlines (JAL) plane at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Jan 2, Japanese Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said “Regarding the coast guard plane, we have been informed that the captain escaped and five people were confirmed dead,” Mr. Saito told reporters. The coast guard plane was headed to Niigata Airport on Japan’s west coast to deliver aid to those caught up in a powerful earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day, killing at least 55 people .Earlier reports said five members of the coast guard crew were unaccounted for, while the captain escaped .The coast guard plane collided with JAL Flight 516 shortly after the passenger jet landed .Live footage on public broadcaster NHK showed the JAL aircraft bursting into flames as it skidded down the tarmac after landing at around 6pm local time .It was later engulfed by the blaze despite efforts by rescue crews to control the fire. The Airbus A350 was carrying 379 passengers and crew, all of whom escaped the blaze. Broadcaster NHK, citing the Tokyo Fire Department, said at least 17 of the people evacuated from the passenger plane were injured. Footage and images shared on social media show passengers shouting inside the smoke-filled cabin and running across the tarmac, away from an evacuation slide. “I felt a boom like we had hit something and jerked upwards the moment we landed,” a passenger on the JAL flight told Kyodo news agency. “I saw sparks outside the window and the cabin filled with gas and smoke. ”The Straits Times has reached out to Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs over whether any Singaporeans were affected. A JAL spokesperson said its aircraft had departed from Shin-Chitose airport on the northern island of Hokkaido. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed the relevant agencies to coordinate to assess the damage swiftly and provide information to the public, according to his office. Haneda, one of Tokyo’s two main airports, closed all runways shortly after the incident. Three runways reopened later in the night. JAL’s rival Japanese airline, All Nippon Airways, said it had cancelled 112 domestic flights departing and landing at Haneda for the rest of Jan 2 owing to the runway shutdown. Transport Minister Saito said the cause of the collision was unclear and investigations are ongoing by the Japan Transport Safety Board, police and other departments. “The Transport Ministry will attempt to resume the operations of Haneda Airport as soon as possible,” Mr. Saito said. Ms. Kaoru Ishii, a mother who was waiting outside the arrival gate for her 29-year-old daughter and boyfriend coming back on the flight, said she initially thought the flight was delayed until her daughter called to explain.“She said the plane had caught fire and she exited via a slide,” Ms Ishii said. “I was really relieved that she was all right.” AFP, REUTERS