Japan plane fire: What happened?

Published

1 year ago

January 2, 2024

admin

As firefighters and rescue crews work on the ground following a huge plane fire at Tokyo’s Haneda airport in Japan, investigators behind the scenes will try to piece together how it happened.

Captured in dramatic footage from the scene, a Japan Airlines aircraft can be seen bursting into flames and moving along the runway in a burning inferno following a collision with a coast guard plane.

Tokyo plane crash – live updates

Japan has already been hit by tragedy following an earthquake on New Year’s Day, with dozens dead and warnings of aftershocks.

Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holiday. As details from the scene continue to emerge, here is everything we know about the plane collision so far.

Which planes were involved?

The domestic Japan Airlines Flight 516, an Airbus A350, had flown out of Shin Chitose airport in the northern island of Hokkaido, down to Tokyo’s Haneda airport on the main island of Honshu. It was carrying 379 people, including crew.

The collision also involved the coastguard aircraft MA722, a De Havilland Canada DHC-8-315Q MPA – also known as a Bombardier Dash-8 – which had six people including the pilot on board.

It had been preparing to fly to the port city of Niigata to deliver aid to those affected by the earthquake at the time of the collision, which took place at 5.47pm local time (8.47am in the UK).

Pilot and aviation consultant Tim Atkinson says the Bombardier Dash-8 is typically a short-haul airliner with about 50 to 80 seats. They are “not anything like the size of the A350s” but are “sizeable enough to have a significant volume of fuel on board”, he told Sky News.

The passenger plane either collided with the coastguard aircraft on the runway or taxiway after it touched down, Japan Airlines reportedly told the Kyodo news agency.

Passengers and crew

All 367 passengers and 12 crew on board the passenger flight were evacuated safely, Japan Airlines said.

The passengers included eight children, Kyodo reported.

“We have just witnessed a miracle,” former commercial pilot Roger Whitefield told Sky News, as footage from the scene played out. “The way they got all those passengers off that aeroplane is almost beyond belief.”

While the coastguard plane pilot managed to evacuate, the five other crew members were killed, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Japan’s transport minister confirmed the pilot of the coast guard plane was injured in the collision.

What caused the collision?

It is too early to say at this stage exactly why the passenger plane hit the smaller aircraft as it landed.

Mr Atkinson, who is also an air accident investigator, said a busy airport in the evening is a “very visually challenging environment” for everyone involved – from air traffic controllers to pilots and vehicle drivers – with “an awful lot of lights of various colours, some of which are flashing”.

He said: “As one approaches a runway at night, it’s often very difficult to perceive those little signs of, for example, a relatively small aircraft.”

Accident investigators will be looking into why the two aircraft were in the same location simultaneously and whether they were both where they should have been, Mr Atkinson said.

Flight Radar 24, which tracks flights across the world, offered more details on the collision, saying the coastguard plane was not equipped with a modern ADS-B transponder.

ADS-B transponders are used to transmit highly accurate information about an aircraft’s position to ground controllers and directly to other aircraft, and are more accurate than using conventional radar surveillance.

What does footage show?

Local TV video showed a large eruption of fire and smoke from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway.

The area around the wing then caught fire, and footage an hour later showed the plane fully engulfed in flames.

As firefighters battled to control the blaze, the Japan Airlines aircraft appeared to break in two.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has said it is investigating the collision.

What have survivors said?

One passenger posted footage from inside the Japan Airlines aircraft as it careered down the runway. The clip then showed people being evacuated down a slide.

Some passengers have also spoken out following their ordeal.

Swede Anton Deibe, 17, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that the “entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes”.

He said: “We threw ourselves down on the floor. Then the emergency doors were opened and we threw ourselves at them.

“The smoke in the cabin stung like hell. It was a hell. We have no idea where we are going so we just run out into the field. It was chaos.”

Mr Deibe said he was traveling with his parents and sister.

“I felt a boom like we had hit something and jerked upward the moment we landed,” another passenger told Kyodo. “I saw sparks outside the window and the cabin filled with gas and smoke.”

What happens next?

Tetsuo Saito, Japan’s transport minister, said the airport would be closed while the collision is under investigation by aviation safety investigators and police.

However, there are hopes it can be reopened tomorrow or possibly sooner.

He added that officials are doing their best to prevent any delays to earthquake relief.

World

Former UN chief’s labelling of Gaza war as ‘genocide’ marks extraordinary shift

Published

18 hours ago

May 30, 2025

admin

Former UN chief's labelling of Gaza war as 'genocide' marks extraordinary shift

In a stark and direct intervention, Martin Griffiths, the former UN humanitarian chief, has described the situation in Gaza as genocide.

The statement, made during an interview I conducted with Griffiths on The World, marks one of the most pointed accusations yet from a figure known to be deeply embedded in the world of international politics and diplomacy.

“I think now we’ve got to the point this is unequivocal. Of course it is genocide. Just as it is weaponising aid.

“We don’t need to look behind ourselves to see that’s the case. That should encourage us even more because we, of course, all doubted whether it would come to that level of definition.

“We all doubted whether famine is actually there. I think starvation is killing people. That’s bad enough. We don’t have to worry about famine, which is obviously there lurking in the shadows.

“Also, genocide… of course that’s what has happened. We only need to look at the statements made. Prime Minister Netanyahu has the virtue of being very clear about his objectives.”

His choice of words is extraordinary – not just for its gravity, but because it’s Griffiths who is saying it.

A veteran diplomat with decades of experience navigating complex international crises, Griffiths is known for his calm and thoughtful demeanour – not for inflammatory language.

For him to use the term “genocide” in a television interview signals a significant shift in how some within the international system are now interpreting events on the ground in Gaza – 20 months since Israel launched its war.

The timing is also noteworthy.

Just weeks earlier, Tom Fletcher, another respected former British ambassador and current UN humanitarian chief, came close to using the phrase during a UN Security Council session.

👉 Click here to listen to The World With Richard Engel And Yalda Hakim wherever you get your podcasts 👈

He said: “What more evidence do you need now? Will you act decisively to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law? Or will you say instead: ‘we did all we could?'”

Whilst he stopped short, his tone showed a clear change in how leading international figures now view the direction of Israeli military operations in Gaza; staggering civilian deaths, and the statements made by Israeli officials prosecuting this war.

Griffiths’ remarks now go a step further.

It comes as the British government continues to grapple with public anger over the mounting civilian toll – and faces growing scrutiny over its continued arms exports to Israel.

This latest statement by Griffiths doesn’t just reflect humanitarian concern.

As a former ambassador, he knows the weight his words carry.

And with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsening, his warning challenges Israel’s allies to ask deeply uncomfortable questions.

Lawyers representing Israel against accusations brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice last year – accusing its actions in Gaza of amounting to genocide – called the claims “unfounded”, “absurd” and amounting to “libel”.

They went on to say Israel respected international law and had a right to defend itself.

World

More than 40% of Europe slides into drought, including pockets of Greece, southern Italy and Spain

Published

18 hours ago

May 30, 2025

admin

More than 40% of Europe slides into drought, including pockets of Greece, southern Italy and Spain

Well over a third of Europe, including parts of holiday destinations like Spain, Greece and Italy, are now in drought.

March was Europe’s warmest on record – a trend driven by climate change – and also saw below average rain across large parts of the north and east of the continent.

Now 41.2% of Europe finds itself in some form of drought, according to the latest update from the EU’s European Drought Observatory, which covers 11 to 20 May.

It is most acute in pockets of south-eastern Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Albania, where the strongest “alert” category has been issued, as well as parts of Poland and Ukraine.

But broad stretches of northern and eastern Europe through France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine also drying up, sowing concerns about crop yields.

On Thursday, the UK’s Environment Agency officially declared a drought in North West England after river and reservoir levels were licked away by a dry spring.

Greece tourism is ‘unsustainable’

In Greece, “overtourism” from millions flocking to its beaches adds further pressure to water supplies, said Nikitas Mylopoulos, professor of water resource management at Thessaly University.

“The tourist sector is unsustainable and there is no planning… leading to a tremendous rise in water demand in summer,” he told Sky News.

“The islands have an intense problem of drought and water scarcity.”

Islands like Santorini and Mykonos are now forced to ship in water from Athens or desalination plants to provide for showers and swimming pools. In the past, many residents could make do with local methods like rainwater harvesting.

But agriculture is a far bigger drain on the country’s water, with waste rife and policies lacking, said Prof Mylopoulos.

Wildfire season could be ‘particularly difficult’

This year’s hot and dry conditions are also fuelling the risk of yet another fierce wildfire season in Greece.

Last week civil protection minister Ioannis Kefalogiannis warned of a “particularly difficult” summer.

He said a record 18,000 firefighters have been deployed and the drone fleet almost doubled in a bid to combat fires being fuelled by a hotter climate.

Droughts and their causes are more complicated, but scientists at World Weather Attribution say global warming is exacerbating drought in some parts of the world, including around the Mediterranean.

They found the drought of 2022, which spread across the Northern Hemisphere, was made 20 times more likely by climate change.

The International Hydropower Association said drought and intense rain in Europe are pushing power plants to “operate at the limits of their existing equipment”.

Extreme weather costs the EU about €28.3bn (£23.8bn) in lost crops and livestock per year, according to insurance firm Howden.

Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at Newcastle University, said: “With global warming, we expect more prolonged and intense droughts and heatwaves punctuated by more intense rainfall, possibly causing flash floods.

“In recent years, we have experienced more of these atmospheric blocks, causing record heat and persistent drought, as well as severe flooding in other locations in Europe.

“Recent months have been no different, with prolonged dry conditions and heatwaves in northern Europe and floods in southern Europe.”

World

Nigeria floods: At least 117 dead as heavy flooding submerges thousands of houses

Published

20 hours ago

May 30, 2025

admin

Nigeria floods: At least 117 dead as heavy flooding submerges thousands of houses

At least 117 people have died and others are still missing after heavy flooding in Nigeria, an emergency official said.

Authorities initially said 21 people had died but this figure has today risen significantly.

Media reports quoting local government officials said a dam collapse has worsened the situation.

Ibrahim Hussaini, head of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said some 3,000 houses were underwater in two communities.

Videos posted on social media show floodwater sweeping through neighbourhoods, with rooftops barely visible above the brown currents. One clip shows a tanker floating through a town.

The chairman of the Mokwa local government area suggested poor infrastructure has worsened the impact of the flooding.

Jibril Muregi has appealed to the government to start “long overdue” construction of waterways in the area under a climate resilience project.

In a similar occurrence last September, torrential rains and a dam collapse in Nigeria’s northeastern Maiduguri caused severe flooding, leaving at least 30 people dead and displacing millions.

Nigeria is prone to flooding during the rainy season, which began in April – and flooding is becoming more common and extreme as the climate warms.

Hotter air is thirstier and can hold more moisture – about 7% more for every 1C warmer – meaning it unleashes heavier flooding when it rains.

Violent rain, which killed hundreds of people in Nigeria during 2022, was made at least 80 times more likely and 20% more intense by climate change, analysis by World Weather Attribution found.