Five dead in Japan airport collision
Gavin Blair
A total of five people who were on a coast guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport have died as a result of a collision with a passenger plane, police confirmed, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Six people were on the coast guard aircraft, a Bombardier Dash-8, which was part of earthquake relief efforts.
Key events
Gavin Blair
Writing for the Guardian, Gavin Blair, a journalist in Tokyo, has the full report on the horrific runway crash at Tokyo airport.
He writes:
Those on the passenger jet, which had arrived at about 5.47pm local time from New Chitose airport on the northern island of Hokkaido, later spoke of their terror after hearing the thud of the initial impact.
Social media footage from within the cabin showed how passengers could see the flames at the back exterior of the plane through the cabin windows as it continued down the runway immediately after the collision.
“Smoke began to fill the plane, and I thought, ‘This could be really bad,’” said one male passenger. “An announcement said doors in the back and middle could not be opened. So everyone disembarked from the front.”
Airbus has said it will send a team of experts to assist French and Japanese authorities as they investigate the deadly accident involving one of its A350 planes at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
The aircraft involved was MSN 538, delivered to Japan Airlines after production in November 2021 and was powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, Airbus added.
Airbus regrets to confirm that an A350-900 operated by Japan Airlines was involved in an accident during flight #JAL516 from Sapporo New Chitose Airport to Haneda International Airport shortly after 17:47 (local time) on 02 January 2024. All 367 passengers and 12 crew members…
— Airbus (@Airbus) January 2, 2024
Summary of the day thus far
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The death toll following a powerful earthquake in Japan has risen to 55.
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Rescue efforts continue to reach people who might be trapped under collapsed buildings.
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Some residents of affected areas remain evacuated.
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A Japan Airlines flight collided with a coastguard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. Footage showed the airliner on fire on the runway.
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All 379 people on the Japan Airlines plane were safely evacuated.
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Five of the six people on the coastguard aircraft died in the accident.
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Leaders from across the world extended their condolences to Japan following the earthquake.
Death toll rises to 55 after Japan earthquake
The death toll in Ishikawa prefecture has risen to 55 following yesterday’s massive earthquake, the Japanese public broadcaster NHK reports.
More foreign leaders are speaking out about the situation in Japan.
Nach dem schweren Erdbeben in Japan sind unsere Gedanken bei den Opfern und ihren Familien, die nun mit den Folgen dieser Naturkatastrophe kämpfen. Wir stehen an der Seite unserer japanischen Freundinnen und Freunde, @kishida230.
— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) January 2, 2024
Deeply sorrowed by the consequences of yesterday’s earthquake near Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan. My deepest condolences to the PM Kishida and the people of Japan. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and with all those affected by this disaster.
— Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) January 2, 2024
Romania 🇷🇴 stands by the people of Japan🇯🇵 in these difficult times. We send our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the earthquakes’ victims.
— Klaus Iohannis (@KlausIohannis) January 2, 2024
“The European Union stands in solidarity with you and for any assistance Japan would require,” European Council president Charles Michel wrote today.
Europeans stand with the people of Japan following the devastating earthquakes @kishida230. We mourn with you the devastation and loss of life.
The European Union stands in solidarity with you and for any assistance Japan would require.
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) January 2, 2024
Here are more images from Ishikawa prefecture, where buildings collapsed following yesterday’s massive earthquake.
Ed Galea, a professor and director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich, has praised the crew of the Japan Airlines plane which was on fire at Haneda airport after colliding with a coastguard plane.
All passengers from the Japan Airlines flight were safely evacuated.
Galea wrote on social media:
You can see one of the JAL crew at the 4L exit urging passengers to come back to the exit. The crew member has a torch which they are using to attract passengers to the exit as the aircraft is filling with toxic smoke.
During the evacuation, the aircraft is nose down as the nose gear has collapsed. This makes the evacuation and the performance of the crew even more incredible. To use the 4L exits, passengers have to essentially climb up hill. That crew member at 4L is doing an astounding job.
Of the few passengers we can see on the ground and safely evacuated in the video, none have luggage, which is good behaviour by passengers, and presumably by crew who would have urged passengers to leave luggage behind.
Hats off to the JAL crew, you guys are amazing, all souls on board are safe.
Around 120 people still awaiting rescue following Japan’s earthquake
Rescue crews are still struggling to reach some people following yesterday’s massive earthquake.
Reuters reports that Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, said:
The government has deployed emergency rescue teams from the Self-Defence Forces, police and fire departments to the area and is doing its utmost to save lives and rescue victims and survivors, but we have received reports that there are still many people waiting to be rescued under collapsed buildings.
Fires and damage to infrastructure have complicated efforts to reach trapped people.
A government spokesperson said there are around 120 cases of people awaiting rescue, Reuters reported.
The Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, described how evacuees built bonfires to stay warm in the aftermath of yesterday’s earthquake.
About 20 evacuees warmed themselves by a bonfire in front of a convenience store. Several puddles in front of the store were frozen.
Sweet potatoes roasted over the fire were shared, and bites of the toasty tubers brought smiles to the faces of the children there who were wrapped in blankets.
Here are more photos from Japan today, where some locals remain displaced from their homes amid damage from yesterday’s massive earthquake.
In the regions of Japan hit by earthquakes on New Year’s Day, residents have been speaking of their experiences.
On the Noto peninsula, the destruction included buildings damaged by fire, houses flattened, fishing boats sunk or washed ashore, and highways hit by landslides.
“I’m amazed the house is this broken and everyone in my family managed to come out of it unscathed,” said Akiko, standing outside her parents’ tilting home in the badly hit city of Wajima.
The way 2024 started “will be etched into my memory forever”, she told AFP after what she called the “long and violent” earthquake on Monday.
“It was such a powerful jolt,” Tsugumasa Mihara, 73, said as he queued with hundreds of others for water in the nearby town of Shika.
Local authorities put the death toll at 48, but the number was expected to rise as rescuers comb through the rubble.
Aerial news footage showed the terrifying scale of a fire that ripped through the old market area of Wajima, where a seven-storey commercial building also collapsed. Quake damage impaired rescue efforts to put out the blaze.
Almost 33,000 households were without power in the region, which saw temperatures touch freezing overnight, the local energy provider said. Many cities were without running water.
Watch footage from Tokyo’s Haneda airport, where a passenger plane and coastguard aircraft collided earlier today.
