At 3:40 pm (0840 GMT), a plane belonging to the Thai low-cost airline One-Two-Go attempted to land in heavy rain at the airport in the Phuket holiday resort, but for unknown reasons the aircraft skidded off the runway and struck some trees and a wall.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 plane broke in two and was immediately engulfed in flames after the impact. Fiver crew members, two pilots and 123 passengers were on board the flight from Bangkok, 45 being Thai citizens, the airline informed.
One-Two-Go Airlines is a low-cost airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the domestic subsidiary of Orient Thai Airlines. Its main base is Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok.
A survivor told journalists that almost half of the people on board were foreign tourists. He described the landing as very abrupt, saying he flew “on many airplanes… but there was something strange about the landing.” The plane reportedly dropped to fast and couldn’t stay on the runway.After Sunday’s accident, authorities closed the Phuket Airport, the second busiest airport of Thailand after Suvarnabhumi Airport. One-Two-Go is a subsidiary of Orient Thai Airlines and operates domestic routes in Thailand since December, 2003.
Phuket is the biggest island in Thailand, located about 640 kilometres south of Bangkok in the Andaman Sea. Its beaches are famous throughout the region and thousands of Thai foreign tourists travel to the island each year.
More to come as the numbers get cleared up....
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