Three people have died after the low-cost Pegasus Airlines plane, flight number PC2193, skidded off the runway and broke apart while landing at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport, Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Wednesday.
The plane was arriving from the western Turkish city of Izmir with 183 on board, including 175 adult passengers, two young children and six crew members. Passengers had to evacuate through cracks in the smashed plane and have been sent to different hospitals.
“We are deeply saddened … (But) we are very happy that we escaped a greater accident,” he said, adding that the plane could have burst into flames.
The airport was shut down after the incident, which occurred at around 6:30 p.m. local time, and flights were being diverted to Istanbul’s main airport.
An investigation into the incidence has been launched.
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