Chaos unfolded at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport this morning as horrified passengers sprinted for safety when a Japan Airlines plane burst into flames upon landing.
The intense inferno engulfed the aircraft in bright orange flames, prompting emergency vehicles to rush to the scene. Reports suggest the incident occurred after the flight collided with a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft.
The plane, identified as JAL 516, had taken off from Hokkaido, with estimates suggesting there could have been between 300 to 400 individuals on board.
Witnesses reported the terrifying sight of the plane exploding upon landing. Subsequent footage revealed firefighting crews battling the flames, with the fire spreading and covering a significant portion of the aircraft.
One of the witness, Lyubov Pichueva said: “I heard a powerful explosion coming from above. At first I thought it was fireworks, but the sound was too strange. It was very scary.” Another witness said: “It was burning very bright just now. Something is falling out of it… It is dumping something.”
Haneda Airport, a vital travel hub during the New Year holidays, has closed all runways as a result of the incident. The airport is one of Japan’s busiest, connecting people traveling across the country.
This incident follows closely on the heels of a recent disaster in Japan, where a 7.6-magnitude earthquake caused devastation, triggering tsunamis and leveling entire neighborhoods.
JAL stated that it believes its plane was struck by another aircraft, potentially a Japan Coast Guard plane. Japan’s Coast Guard is currently verifying reports of the collision.
