An airport personnel walks beside the remains of a Lion Air, West Wind 24 aircraft after it caught fire during take off at Manila???s International Airport in Philippines on Thursday, March 26, 2020. A plane carrying eight people has caught fire while attempting to take off from Manila???s airport on a flight bound for Japan, killing all those on board, officials said. (AP Photo)
An aircraft carrying medical supplies for coronavirus treatment has crashed, killing the eight persons on board.
The incident was reported to have happened on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, capital city of Philippines.
A nurse, COVID-19 patient were said to be among the victims of the ill-fated Lion Air Flight RPC 5880 which caught fire on the runway as it was taking off from the airport.
The Tokyo-bound plane was chartered by the government to carry emergency supplies to the country.
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A video footage from the scene showed a cloud of smoke, as emergency officials were battling to quench the fire.
“Unfortunately, no passenger survived the accident,” the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said in a statement.
Experts in the country have warned about an explosive rise of untraceable cases of the virus in Tokyo, Osaka and other urban areas.
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According to Worldometer, Japan has recorded 1,866 cases of the coronovirus, with 54 deaths.
“Once infections overshoot, our strategy will instantly fall apart. Under the current situation, we are just barely holding up,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
On the global scene, there are 735,015 confirmed cases, with 34,804 deaths. However, 156,122 has recovered.
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