Plane crashes, breaks apart after overshooting Istanbul airport runway
Updated 02:08, 06-Feb-2020
CGTN
Europe;Turkey
The plan overshot the runway (Credit: Muhammed Demir/AFP)

The plan overshot the runway (Credit: Muhammed Demir/AFP)

A plane flying into Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport from Izmir on Wednesday skidded off the runway after landing and crashed, injuring 21 people, Turkish officials said.

The Boeing 737-800 split into three pieces after what Transport Minister Cahit Turhan called a rough landing. Adding that there were no fatalities, Turhan said flights waiting to land in Sabiha Gokcen were diverted to Istanbul Airport.

A spokeswoman for Pegasus Airlines confirmed the crash but did not provide further details. However, Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said the plane, flying from Turkey's western province of Izmir, was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members.

Emergency response teams had taken 21 people to hospital and evacuation efforts were continuing, Yerlikaya said.

Footage on Turkish media showed the plane's fuselage, as well as a section near the tail, had broken off. Passengers were being led out as the plane lay on a patch of grass next to the runway. Dozens of emergency response personnel were taking passengers out of the plane and carrying them away on stretchers. Earlier footage showed part of the exterior of the plane had caught fire, which news agency Anadolu said was put out by firefighters.

Turkish Airlines said it canceled all its flights in and out of Sabiha Gokcen on Wednesday.

Remember to sign up to Global Business Daily here to get our top headlines direct to your inbox every weekday

Source(s): Reuters