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Media reports has it that at least 177 passengers escaped death on Wednesday after a Turkish plane skidded off the runway while attempting to land in an airport in Istanbul.
The aircraft which was said to have arrived from the Aegean city of Izmir had run into a field after it caught fire and split into three.
Airport Officials who evacuated all 177 passengers including six crew members from the rumble through the cracks in the plane debris said 52 persons were injured.
While authorities have cited the bad weather conditions for the accident, the state’s Transportation Ministry blamed the “rough landing” on the plane’s inability to decelerate properly.
The airport has however been shut down and all flights diverted to the Istanbul’s main airport.
A similar occurrence was recorded at the same airport on January 7 as a Pegasus plane skidded off the runway with zero casualties or injuries.
