Video: Medical evacuation plane explosion kills 8 in Philippines

Manila - The plane was bound from Manila to Haneda, Japan.

By Reuters

Published: Mon 30 Mar 2020, 6:26 PM

A medical evacuation plane exploded in a ball of flames during takeoff in the Philippine capital on Sunday, killing all eight passengers and crew on board, officials said.
The Lion Air plane was bound from Manila to Haneda, Japan, and burst into flames at the end of the runway at around 8pm (1200 GMT), Manila's main airport said. Video footage showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the night sky as fire crews doused the fuselage with foam.

WATCH: Aircraft carrying eight people catches fire near Ninoy Aquino International Airport | Courtesy: Jela Jels on Facebook pic.twitter.com/o3JfF70sp7
- CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) March 29, 2020

Est. Passengers: 8 (flight medic, a nurse, a doctor, three flight crews, a patient & a companion of the patient)

The plane caught fire and exploded as it was taking off of NAIA runway 24.

PRC Dispatched teams:
- 1 Fire truck with 7 crew
- 2 ambulances with 7 medical personnel pic.twitter.com/P9JxvbTq4f
- Philippine Red Cross (@philredcross) March 29, 2020

The twin-jet West Wind 24 was carrying three medical personnel, three flight crew, a patient and a companion, Richard Gordon, a senator and head of the Philippine Red Cross, said on Twitter.
"Unfortunately, no passenger survived the accident," the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said in a statement.
An investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines was under way, MIAA said.