A passenger plane skidded off the runway at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport on Wednesday, breaking into three pieces, killing one person and injuring dozens of others, the authorities said.
At least 157 people were hospitalized, Fahrettin Koca, the minister of health, told reporters in televised remarks. Two of the wounded were in intensive care but no one was in critical condition, he said.
Kerem Gun, a chief physician at one of the hospitals treating victims, told the broadcaster NTV that most of the injured people had broken noses and head trauma.
The plane was dragged about 160 feet and fell from a height of about 100 feet, Gov. Ali Yerlikaya of Istanbul said in a news conference from the scene.
The plane had 177 passengers and six crew members on board, according to the governor.
It was raining heavily at the time of the episode, and experts suggested that the weather was a factor in the accident. In audio released by NTV, airport officials can be heard warning pilots about strong winds.
Plane skids off runway and breaks into three pieces at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport — no reported fatalities https://t.co/GMW8fGMYcK pic.twitter.com/Oq8sTUJgUi
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 5, 2020
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