News: Plane Crashes upon Landing at Phuket
A passenger plane heading to one of Thailand's leading tourist destinations crashed Sunday as it tried to land in heavy rain, splitting in two as it was engulfed in flames, officials said. As many as 100 people were feared dead.The wreckage of a One-Two-Go passenger plane after it crashed while attempting to land at Phuket International Airport on Sunday, 16 September 2007.
(By Shanthy Nambiar and Suttinee Yuvejwattana)
Most of the people on board an airliner that crashed after landing in heavy rain on Thailand's resort island of Phuket are dead, Deputy Governor Vorapoj Rattasrima said. They included tourists from Britain, Australia, France and the Netherlands.
The One Two Go Airline Co. flight was a McDonnell Douglas Corp. MD-82 carrying 123 passengers and five crew, Vutichai Singhamanee, director of the aviation safety office, said in an interview. One Two Go is owned by Orient Thai Airlines Co. The flight left the capital Bangkok at 3:45 p.m., Chaisak Ungsuwan, director-general of Thailand's Air Transportation Department, told TITV television.Bangkok Phuket Hospital was treating 28 people injured in the crash, marketing director Narueporn Sinto said in an interview. They include Thais, Australians, Irish, Canadians, French, Israelis, Iranians, Germans and British, she said. Phuket International Hospital has treated 11 people, including Swedish and Dutch, said nurse Thananda Chanakul.
Phuket is Thailand's premier tourist destination and one of the most popular with international visitors to Asia. Earnings from tourism accounted for 7 percent of the Southeast Asian nation's $195 million economy last year. A tsunami in December 2004 killed about 5,400 people and left nearly 3,000 missing in southern Thailand's islands, including Phuket.
Vorapoj told The Associated Press that at least 66 bodies were laid out in the airport building, 42 people were hospitalized and the rest were missing. Reuters quoted Vorapoj as saying the death toll was 88.
McDonnell Douglas
The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas Corp. MD-82, the aviation safety office's Vutichai said. The flight left the capital Bangkok at 3:45 p.m., Chaisak Ungsuwan, director-general of Thailand's Air Transportation Department told TITV television.
The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas Corp. MD-82, the aviation safety office's Vutichai said. The flight left the capital Bangkok at 3:45 p.m., Chaisak Ungsuwan, director-general of Thailand's Air Transportation Department told TITV television.
"More people are dead than survived,'' Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports Suvit Yodmani said in an interview in Bangkok. "I think we will be able to confirm the number of deaths by tonight. We can't identify nationalities yet.'' The injured passengers have been taken to local hospitals, he said.
Phuket International Airport will be closed until 7 a.m. tomorrow morning, Vutichai said.
Phuket International Airport will be closed until 7 a.m. tomorrow morning, Vutichai said.
The airplane broke in two and caught on fire after skidding and hitting an embankment after landing in a heavy rainstorm, Channel 7 news reported. Television images showed the aircraft in pieces with smoke billowing from it. Many of the dead were still strapped into their seats, the television report cited eyewitnesses as saying. The injured have been taken to Phuket's Watchira Hospital, it said.
Worst Since 1998.
Worst Since 1998.
Today's crash may be Thailand's deadliest since a Thai Airways International Pcl Airbus A310-200 crashed while attempting to land at Surat Thani airport in southern Thailand in December 1998, killing 101 of the 146 people on board.
One Two Go Airline Chief Executive Officer Udom Tantiprasongchai said the company is investigating the event and is ready to take responsibility.
"I have contacted our insurance firm in London and we will take full responsibility on this,'' Udom said in an interview. "We will set up hotline soon and will have insurance officials contact people affect from the accident.''
Channel 9 TV station, citing Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongchaum, said 39 bodies have been found at the crash site, with 50 passengers reported injured.
Labels: Thailand, Travel Safety on Earth
posted by Gate-4-Away @ 4:07 PM
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