At least 179 injured as plane carrying 183 people skids off runway at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport, catching fire and splitting into three after landing in rough weather, officials say.
A Turkish airliner skidded off a runway, crashed into a ditch and broke apart while landing in bad weather in Istanbul, killing three people and injuring 179 more.
Passengers had to scramble through the split fuselage to escape.
The aircraft, operated by Pegasus Airlines, was arriving at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport from the western Turkish city of Izmir with 183 passengers and crew on board when it had what the Transportation Ministry described as a “rough landing.”
Istanbul Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said the plane failed to “hold onto the runway” and skidded some 50-60 metres before it dropped into the ditch from a height of about 30 metres.
“Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported early Thursday that three people had died and 179 required care at multiple hospitals.
Eyewitness Hasan Eraydin, who shot the video, said he had been driving home from work when he heard a rumble.
“We were about 30 metres away … we tried to get to the scene to help, but there was some sort of a canal in between and it was impossible. We thought ‘God willing, no one has died’.”
Turkish media reported the injured included the plane’s two pilots, who it said were in serious condition.