A Turkish Airlines plane with 135 people aboard slammed into a field yesterday while attempting to land at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 50, the area’s acting mayor said.
The airline had said earlier that everyone survived.
“At this moment there are nine victims to mourn and more than 50 injured,” said Michel Bezuijen, acting mayor of Haarlemmermeer, said at a news conference.
He said there was no immediate word on the cause of the crash.
Bezuijen said at least 25 of the injured were in serious condition and that both crew members and passengers were hurt.
The plane broke into three sections on impact and its jet engines landed about 100m from the wreckage in a muddy field.
Candan Karlitekin, the head of the airline’s board of directors, told reporters in Turkey that visibility was good at the time of landing.
“Visibility was clear and around 5,000 yards [4,500m]. Some 550 yards before landing, the plane landed on a field instead of the runway,” he said.
“We have checked the plane’s documents and there is no problem concerning maintenance,” he said.
Frank van den Bos, a spokesman for the Amsterdam Medical Center, told NOS television the hospital was treating seven injured passengers.
There was no sign the plane had caught fire after the crash.
Wim Kok, a spokesman for the Dutch Anti-Terror Coordinator’s Office, said terrorism did not appear to be a factor.
“There are no indications whatsoever [of a terror attack],” Kok said.
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