Passengers on a plane that burst into flames after it collided with a coast guard aircraft in Tokyo have been describing the horror that unfolded.
The incident happened on the runway at the city’s Haneda airport on Tuesday after the Japan Airlines Flight 516 had just landed and was seen skidding down the tarmac.
All 379 people on board the Airbus A-350 were led to safety before the jet was entirely engulfed in fire. The pilot of the Japanese coast guard plane, a Bombardier Dash-8, also escaped but five crew members died.
The plane had been due to head to Niigata airport to deliver aid to residents affected by an earthquake in the region on Monday that killed at least 48 people.
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“I felt a boom like we had hit something and jerked upward the moment we landed,” one passenger told the Kyodo news agency.
“I saw sparks outside the window and the cabin filled with gas and smoke.”
Local TV video showed a large blaze and smoke from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied after landing. The area around the wing then caught fire.
Footage an hour later showed the plane, which had flown from Shin Chitose airport, fully on fire.
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