Firefighters battles burning houses after five-seater plane comes down in residential district of Chofu in Japan’s capital
TOKYO, Japan –– A light plane crashed into a residential area in Tokyo on Sunday morning, killing three people, injuring five and setting fire to several houses.
The five-seater plane crashed about 11am shortly after it departed Tokyo’s Chofu airport, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Tokyo Fire Department officials said the three suffered heart and lung failures. Five others were taken to hospitals but their conditions were not immediately known.
Vliegtuigje stort neer op woonwijk TokioEr is een vliegtuigje neergestort op een woonwijk in een voorstad van Tokio. Zeker drie mensen zijn daarbij omgekomen, meerdere huizen zijn verwoest → nos.nl/l/2048963
Posted by NOS on Saturday, July 25, 2015
It is unknown how many people were aboard the plane. However, NHK, quoting police, earlier said two people on board and one female local resident were killed in the accident.
Police said the cause of the crash was not immediately known. The neighbourhood is about 500 metres from the airport used by small aircraft.
At least three houses and two cars were on fire in the capital’s residential district of Chofu near the airport, and the crash also damaged the roofs of other houses nearby, according to the spokesman and local media.
A witness told NHK: “I thought it was flying quite low.”
Television footage showed firefighters battling the blaze, and showed the remains of the plane’s tail.
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report
