5 Japanese Coast Guardsmen Dead After Plane Collides with JAL Commercial Jet

Five members of the Japanese Coast Guard have died after the Bombardier Dash 8 they were in collided with a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday evening, local time (January 2).

A sixth person, the pilot commanding the plane, escaped with severe injuries, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

The Japanese Coast Guard earlier said that its plane was supposed to be heading to Niigata on the country's west coast to deliver aid to those caught up in a powerful earthquake that struck on New Year's Day, which killed at least 48 people as of Tuesday.

The passenger jet, on the other hand, caught fire, but all of its 379 passengers and crew were safely evacuated, even if 17 of them were injured.

[UPDATE] 5 Japanese Coast Guardsmen Dead After Plane Collides with Passenger Jet

(Photo: RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

Wrong Place at Wrong Time

It was earlier reported that the Japan Airlines plane was already landing in Tokyo after departing Hokkaido earlier on Tuesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida quoted The Japan Times saying that it was "very unfortunate" that the five coast guardsmen died in the crash, offering his sincere condolences, gratitude, and respect for their strong sense of duty in helping the earthquake victims.

Footage retrieved by NHK showed flames emerging from near the engines of the Japan Airlines jet. Some 70 fire trucks and their crews rushed to the scene to contain the fire, but it eventually gutted the plane once the fire was under control.

While the plane crash only affected one of Haneda's four runways, officials said it shut down the whole airport and diverted flights heading to Tokyo to nearby airports.