Plane breaks apart after skidding off runway in Turkey

Author: Gul Tuysuz and Hande Atay Alam, CNN
Published: Updated:
The passenger plane broke into two after skidding off the runway. (Handout/Istanbul Security Directorate/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

All 183 people on board a passenger plane survived after it skidded off the runway and broke apart while landing at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport.

Fifty-two people were injured in Wednesday’s accident and taken to hospital, Istanbul’s governor Ali Yerlikaya said.

The Pegasus Airlines plane was carrying 177 people and six crew members, according to the Turkish Transportation Ministry.

“There has been no loss of life, the injured passengers are being evacuated off the plane to hospitals,” Turkish transport minister Cahit Turan said.

The plane caught fire after landing, and ambulances and rescue teams were at the scene to rescue passengers, CNN Turk reported. The airport has been temporarily closed to air traffic.

According to Flightradar24.com the plane landed at 6.19 p.m. local time (10.19 a.m. ET).

Weather radar showed a line of showers and thunderstorms moving through the area at the time of the incident.

Prosecutors in the Turkish capital Ankara have launched an investigation into the incident.

This is a developing story, more to come.

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