The plane, a Lion Air plane, was on its way from Manila to Haneda Airport in Tokyo with 8 other people on board when it jammed at the end of the runway at Manila International Airport.
“There were no survivors,” Manila airport leader Ed Monreal said at a press conference.
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Monreal said two of the 8 foreigners on board, one American and one Canadian, and the other Filipinos.
The workers’ fire trucks and rescue corps rushed to spray the aircraft with foam to check and extinguish the flames.
The Philippine Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft, an Agusta WW24, encountered an “unspecified fire-causing challenge” while rolling to take off, adding that its leading investigator was heading to the site.
Philippine news PhilStar reported that the aircraft involved in the incident can be configured as an air ambulance, with space for one patient, two or 3 members of a medical team and one or two family members.
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Senator Richard Gordon, a senator and head of the Philippine Red Cross, said on Twitter that the 8 passengers on board included a flight attendant, a nurse, a doctor, 3 team members, a patient and a companion.
“The aircraft was turned on and exploded when it took off from NAIA PISTA 24,” Gordon tweeted.
It was unclear whether those on board were going to travel to Japan to remedy COVID-19, but government officials told the New York Times that the Tropical Medicine Research Institute used the same aircraft to send materials to frontline medical workers. the country fighting the virus.
Donaldo Mendoza, deputy director of the Philippine Civil Aviation Authority, said the aircraft considered “in a position to fly” according to records and that its pilots were well qualified to fly.
The aircraft had traveled to the central province of Iloilo on Saturday to deliver incident medical equipment, Mendoza said.
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On Sunday, the Philippines had 1,418 cases of COVID-19 and deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, known for his explosions and commentary, has limited the main northern island of Luzon, home to more than 50 million people, and the capital Manila.
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In addition to the restrictions, maximum citizens have been ordered to remain at home, while maximum businesses and schools have been suspended as a component of a month-long containment strategy.
The main runway of the airport was closed due to the accident. The airport had only a minimum of staff due to air restrictions that are part of a month-long government closure in the main northern region of Luzon, in the Philippines, where the capital Manila is located, to combat the coronavirus outbreak, authorities said.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.