'I thought I was going to die': Horror footage shows inside burning Japanese plane as screaming passengers battle smoke

2 January 2024, 15:09 | Updated: 2 January 2024, 15:12

By Jasmine Moody

Footage shows the moment when screaming passengers battle the 'stinging' smoke as their plane burns after colliding with a coastguard aircraft.

The passenger plane JAL 516 had been carrying 379 people, before busting into flames after colliding with a coastguard aircraft, according to officials.

All 367 passengers, including eight children, and 12 crew members survived, Japan Airlines and Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said.

They were evaculated in 90 seconds. 17 people were injured.

Some passengers on the flight managed to capture the chaos inside the plane.

X/Twitter user, @alto_maple, wrote in Japanese: "I thought I was going to die".

The post includes a video showing panicked passengers covering their faces with their hands or masks.

People can be heard yelling in the background.

Another clip shows the moment the passenger plane landed on the runway with clouds of smoke coming from the wing.

The plane left New Chitose airport in Sapporo at 4pm (7am UK) and was due to land at 5.40pm.

Read more: 'Survivors buried under rubble' as 7.6 magnitude earthquake triggers tsunami waves and destroys houses in Japan

Read more: Five killed on coast guard aircraft that crashed into Japanese passenger plane carrying hundreds of people

Swede Anton Deibe, 17, who was a passenger on the Japan Airlines plane, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that "the entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes. We threw ourselves down on the floor.

"Then the emergency doors were opened and we threw ourselves at them.

"The smoke in the cabin stung like hell. It was a hell. We have no idea where we are going so we just run out into the field.

"It was chaos," added Anton, who was travelling with his parents and sister.

Over 70 fire engines were sent to fight the flames.

Authorities work to put out fire on flames in Japan

Meanwhile, five people were killed on the Japanese coastguard plane, Mr Saito said.

The pilot managed to escape the crash but was severely injured in the incident at Haneda Airport near Tokyo.

The plane, which is based at Haneda, had been due to head to Niigata to deliver relief goods to residents affected by an earthquake in the region on Monday that killed at least 48 people.

Japan has endured a devastating start to 2024, as about 50 earthquakes affected the western part of the country's centre. The largest measured a magnitude of 7.6.

Rescuers are racing against time to save anyone who could be trapped under the rubble, as 48 have died.

Tsunami warnings were also issued - though the country survived a repeat of the devastating waves of 2011.