Plane Skids Off Istanbul Runway, Breaks Into Pieces; 21 Hurt

A plane skidded off the runway Wednesday at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport, crashing into a field and breaking into pieces. Passengers were seen evacuating through cracks in the plane and authorities said at least 21 people were injured.Television footage showed serious damage to the plane, with the fuselage appearing to be broken into three pieces. NTV television reported that the plane caught fire after skidding but said the blaze had been extinguished.The Istanbul Governor’s office says at least 21 people were injured in the accident and have been hospitalized.The plane, belonging to the low-cost airline Pegasus, arrived from the city of Izmir, private NTV television reported. The Transportation Ministry said 177 people were on board and there had been no deaths in what it called a “rough landing.”According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the plane is a Boeing 737.The Istanbul Governor’s office said at least 21 people were injured in the accident and had been hospitalized. The office said the 177 people on board included six crew members.The airport was shut down and flights were being diverted to Istanbul’s main airport, he said.The accident comes a month after another Pegasus plane skidded off the runway in Istanbul at the same airport. There were no deaths or injuries in that incident on Jan. 7.
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