One dead, 157 injured after passenger plane skids off runway at an Istanbul airport

One person died and 157 were injured after a passenger plane skidded off the runway at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport, according to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

The plane was arriving from Turkey’s Aegean province of Izmir at Sabiha Gokcen International Airport when it skidded off the runway during landing, according to Turkey’s Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Cahit Turhan.

Anadolu News Agency says that television footage showed the plane separated from its fuselage after it burst into flames following the crash.

Several firefighters and paramedics were dispatched to the area.

Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya said there were 177 people, including 171 passengers and six staff on board the plane, which was flying back to Istanbul from the western city of Izmir. Emergency response teams took the wounded passengers to 18 different hospitals in the area, he added.

In January, all flights were suspended fom Sabiha Gokcen airport after a Pegasus plane skidded off the runway because of bad weather.