Five coastguardsmen lost their lives after their supply plane collided with a Japan Airlines (JAL) aircraft at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Despite the spectacular fire that resulted from the impact, all passengers and crew of the commercial vehicle were rescued alive. A sixth crewmember of the Coast Guard aircraft managed to save himself after ejection and was taken to a hospital. The airfield remains closed.
🚨#UPDATE: Five crew members of Coast Guard plane have been unaccounted for and currently missing after collision at Tokyo Airport, reports that the captain has survived pic.twitter.com/4mJM8x7vEO
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 2, 2024
The Coast Guard was transporting supplies after the earthquake
While investigating what happened to cause both vehicles to collide near the runway, Japan Airlines reported that flight 516, from New Chitose, had an accident. In the statement, the company reported that the 367 passengers and 12 crew members, including eight children, were evacuated.
The Coast Guard reported that six people were flying on board the vehicle, and one of them - a captain - managed to escape, while the other five lost their lives. According to their data, the plane that collided with the JAL plane belonged to the Haneda Air Base, and was transporting supplies to the Niigata Airport Base after the earthquake.
