A passenger jet has caught fire on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. The Japan Coast Guard has confirmed that one of its aircraft collided with the Airbus A350 belonging to Japan Airlines shortly before it burst into flames.
The airline revealed that there were 367 passengers and 12 crew on board Flight 516 when the fire broke out. All of them have been evacuated, with no reports of injuries so far.
The Japan Coast Guard said that there were six crew on board a fixed-wing plane that collided with the passenger jet. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department later confirmed that five of them had died, with one more person seriously injured.
The Airbus A350 was conducting a domestic flight when the fire broke out at around 6pm local time on Tuesday.
NHK showed several fire engines battling the flames that engulfed the plane. Fire and thick black smoke could be seen billowing out of the windows and exits.
According to Haneda Airport representatives, all runways have been closed since around 6pm local time.