How many people died in the Japan Airlines plane fire? Passengers miraculously survived after collision at Haneda Airport

On Tuesday, January 2, a Japan Airlines passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft crashed and caught fire on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed that all 379 passengers and crew members of Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 escaped safely before the plane was entirely engulfed in flames.

According to Kyodo News, eight children were among those on board. Further, the pilot of the coast guard plane also managed to escape, although five crew members passed away, according to police. Saito told reporters:

"Regarding the coast guard plane, we have been informed that the captain escaped and five people were confirmed dead"

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Japan Airlines plane caught fire after collision at Haneda Airport

The video of the accident went viral on social networking sites (Image via Facebook / Japan Airlines / X / Our Japan)

At 4 pm local time (07:00 GMT), Japan Airlines Flight 516 took off from Sapporo's New Chitose airport with a scheduled landing time of 17:40 at Haneda. According to media accounts, it seemed to have collided with a coast guard aircraft before bursting into flames on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday. The incident killed five people.

The plane, which arrived from Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido, is still being tackled by firefighters, who are trying to put out the fire. According to NHK, more than 70 fire engines were being used.

As per an NHK public broadcast report, the airline stated:

"We are currently assessing the extent of the damage."

Tokyo police said the pilot was seriously hurt in the accident and confirmed reports that the five coastguard crew members had died.

Earlier, according to NHK, Japan Airlines claimed that after landing, its aircraft collided with the coastguard aircraft. Sources like Times of India, meanwhile, reported that the exact cause of the event was not immediately clear. However, according to Kyodo, Japan Airlines, aka JAL, after landing, the passenger plane possibly collided with the second aircraft on a runway or a taxiway.

As per an employee of the coast guard aircraft, an inquiry is currently underway to determine how and when the two aircraft made contact with one another.

"It's not clear if there was a collision. But it is certain that our plane is involved."

The coast guard plane was flying from Haneda to Niigata airport to assist with the relief and rescue efforts in the wake of Monday's earthquake in Ishikawa. According to Coast Guard spokesman Yoshinori Yanagishima, the aircraft was a Bombardier Dash-8, registered as MA-722.

The plane was seen traveling down the runway, in images posted by broadcaster NHK, before a massive explosion of orange flames burst from behind and beneath it. Even the runway was aflame. As smoke and flames shot out of the jet, the viral videos also showed numerous fire engines responding to the scene. The footage of the airport later revealed that the airliner was completely on fire.

As rescuers sprayed the aircraft, flames could be seen shooting out of the windows before eventually consuming the entire aircraft. The runway reportedly had flaming debris on it, and the airport was reportedly closed to aircraft.

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According to his office, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered relevant agencies to promptly assess the situation and notify the public following the occurrence.

Meanwhile, Saito stated that Haneda is closed at the moment while police and aviation safety investigators look into the crash. The airlines is reportedly working hard to get the airport operational again by Wednesday or sooner.

He also said that the aforementioned officials are also making every effort to avoid any delays in the delivery of relief supplies and other operations to the area affected by the disaster.